The hurricane Helene has left a trail of death and destruction as it passes through the southeastern United States. Wind, torrential rains and flooding have inundated large areas in six different states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The death toll has continued to rise as rescue efforts continue. This Monday, more than 100 victims have already been counted due to the natural disaster, although there is no centralized count. In addition, there are hundreds of people unaccounted for, which raises fears that the number could increase significantly. Helene It has become one of the deadliest hurricanes on record in the United States.
Local authorities have described the scenes left by the storm in the interior of the country as “apocalyptic.” “This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. The images show areas destroyed by winds and devastated by water, with residential areas completely flooded.
There are dozens of roads closed, making rescue efforts difficult. More than two million homeowners and other utility customers were still without power Sunday night. The scenes of destruction follow one another across the wide strip in which the storm has made its effects felt, from the coast to hundreds of kilometers inland. Damage is difficult to estimate, but is measured in billions of dollars.
Helene It made landfall Thursday in northwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of up to 140 miles per hour. Its entry into the continent occurred through a relatively sparsely populated area, the so-called Big Bend, and in which massive evacuations had been carried out due to the memory of the hurricane. Ian2022.
Apparently weakened, the storm moved into Georgia and then into the Carolinas and Tennessee. With a lower speed of movement, its incessant torrential rains overflowed streams and rivers and flooded entire towns, even though the speed of the winds decreased.
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A provisional estimate by the CNN television network, which puts the death toll at 115, attributes 11 deaths to Florida; 25, to Georgia; 26, to South Carolina; 47, to North Carolina; 4 to Tennessee, and 2 to Virginia. The Associated Press also estimates more than a hundred confirmed deaths. The apparently most affected place is Buncombe County, North Carolina, which includes the mountain city of Asheville, where the provisional death toll stands at 35 people, according to local authorities.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, appeared this Monday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to announce emergency and natural disaster declarations for the area. He has also promised to continue providing federal aid and move to the affected region as soon as this does not interfere with assistance and rescue efforts. He is expected to attend this week.
Biden has said that Helene It is not just a catastrophic storm, but a “historic storm” that has left affected communities “devastated.” He has indicated that federal relief efforts are underway. “We will be there as long as necessary to finish this work,” he assured.
“There have been reports of over 100 deaths as a result of this storm and over 600 people missing because they cannot be contacted. God willing, they will be alive, but there is no way to locate them due to the lack of mobile phone coverage,” he added, to insist on the impact of the storm: “It is devastating. “They haven’t seen anything like this before.”
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris also intends to go to communities affected by the hurricane when possible without disrupting emergency services operations. The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, plans to travel to Georgia. North Carolina and Georgia are two of the seven decisive states in the presidential elections on November 5.
He Katrina It tops the list of the deadliest hurricanes of the last 50 years, with at least 1,833 victims of the storm and subsequent flooding. The hurricane Ianwhich hit southeastern Florida in 2022, caused about 150 direct and indirect fatalities. The tragic deadly list of Helene It is already longer than that of Irmawhich caused 92 deaths in September 2017.
Meanwhile, meteorologists warn that the tropical storm is expected Kirkwhich formed on Monday in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, is expected to become another powerful hurricane this week.
