People wait in line for gasoline in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Sunday in Fletcher, North Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Published September 30, 2024
The death toll from powerful storm Helene jumped above 100 on Monday, with one county in North Carolina alone reporting 30 deaths, authorities said, as rescuers battled to reach people in need across the southeastern United States.
The storm response took on a political tinge after President Joe Biden and the two candidates vying to replace him, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, announced plans to soon visit hard-hit areas, some of them in key battleground states in the November election.
High winds and torrential rain pummeled towns and cities across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Homes were destroyed, roads flooded out and power cut off to millions.
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We’re hearing (of) significant infrastructure damage to water systems, communication, roads, critical transportation routes, as well as several homes that have been just destroyed by this,” the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, said Sunday.
At least 93 people were killed in the extreme weather — 37 in North Carolina, 25 in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, two in Tennessee and one in Virginia, according to tallies from local authorities compiled by AFP. That total was expected to rise.
“We have another devastating update. We now have 30 confirmed losses due to the storm,” Quentin Miller, the sheriff in North Carolina’s Buncombe County, which includes the tourist city of Asheville, told a briefing.
Flood warnings remained in effect in parts of western North Carolina, amid fears of potential dam failures.
Conditions were expected to improve in the affected areas by around Tuesday, National Weather Service director Ken Graham said.
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SOURCE: www.newsmax.com
RELATED: Hurricane Helene Ground Zero: Inside Asheville where one third of storm deaths occurred
A handout photo made available by the North Carolina Division of Aviation showing flood damage caused by the storm that started as Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, September 29, 2024
Published September 30, 2024
About one-third of confirmed deaths caused by Hurricane Helene are from a single North Carolina region, it has been revealed.
Thirty people have been confirmed dead in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, as rescue and recovery operations are ongoing, Sheriff Quentin Miller said on Sunday.
Authorities said there is also a threat of landslides, adding to the challenges Buncombe County is facing due to damage from Hurricane Helene.
County Manager Avril Pinder said she was asking the state for emergency food and drinking water. Streets in picturesque city Asheville were submerged in floodwater.
‘This is a devastating catastrophe of historic proportions,’ Governor Roy Cooper told CNN. ‘People that I talk to in western North Carolina say they have never seen anything like this.’
He added: ‘This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response.’
Hurricane Helene knocked out power for millions, destroyed roads and bridges, and caused dramatic flooding from Florida to Virginia.
At least 116 people have been killed, CBS News reports.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
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