As Hurricane Helene’s death toll increased, authorities in the U.S. Southeast struggled to provide water and other supplies to remote, flood-stricken areas.
At least 84 people have died as a result of the storm, according to a North Carolina county that encompasses the mountain city of Asheville. These deaths occurred in multiple states.
The area surrounding the remote city was receiving supplies by airlift. Ashville, a town renowned for its natural beauty, arts, and culture, will have food and water available by Monday, according to Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder.
“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Pinder stated on Sunday. “My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”
Rebuilding after the extensive destruction of homes and property would be challenging and take time, officials cautioned. All around the Southeast, the hurricane upended lives. There were other recorded deaths in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
The governor of North Carolina believes as rescuers go to remote places, the number of fatalities will increase
Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina projected that the death toll will increase as rescuers and other emergency personnel arrived in places cut off by crumbling infrastructure, extensive floods, and collapsed roads.
He asked people in western North Carolina to stay off the roads for the safety of themselves and other emergency vehicles. To find trapped individuals, more than 50 search teams were dispatched around the area.
In one rescue operation, 41 individuals were saved to the north of Asheville. One infant’s survival was the main goal of another expedition. Adjutant General Todd Hunt of the North Carolina National Guard stated that the teams located individuals via social media messages as well as 911 calls.
As long as it doesn’t interfere with rescue efforts or recovery efforts, President Joe Biden said he will visit the region this week. He called the storm’s effects “stunning.”
Late on Thursday, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region, packing winds of 140 mph (225 kph) as a Category 4 hurricane. After swiftly passing through Georgia, a weaker Helene dumped heavy rains that flooded rivers and creeks and stressed dams in the Carolinas and Tennessee.
Numerous patients and staff members were evacuated by helicopter from a hospital rooftop on Friday, as one of the hundreds of water rescues that have taken place, including one in rural East Tennessee’s Unicoi County.
On Sunday night, about 2 million households and other utility users were still without power. The most disruptions were in South Carolina, where Governor Henry McMaster pleaded for patience while workers fixed many snapped electricity poles.
Read More Stories:
- Fleeing the Storm: Georgia, Florida Residents Evacuate Before Helene Hits
- Tragedy in Helene: Veteran Firefighter and 4-Year-Old Girl Among the Dead
- Asheville in Crisis: Helene’s Aftermath Leaves Roads Impassable and Power Down
Residents of storm-ravaged Florida dig in and attend church
Some people in Florida’s Big Bend lost almost everything. Some churches canceled regular services on Sunday morning because their sanctuaries were still dark, while others, like Faith Baptist Church in Perry, chose to worship outside.
The grounds of Faith Baptist Church are still covered in standing water and fallen trees. The church posted a statement on its Facebook page inviting members to come “pray for our community.”
Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp claimed on Saturday that it appeared “like a bomb went off” after flying overhead and seeing broken homes and roads covered with rubble.
Water supply in Augusta and the neighboring Richmond County would be cut off for a period of 24 to 48 hours, officials informed the city’s citizens on Sunday morning. Augusta is located in eastern Georgia, close to the South Carolina border.
Storm-related debris and trash “blocked our ability to pump water,” according to a news release. Water in bottles was being distributed by officials.
Helene was the deadliest tropical storm to hit South Carolina since Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which killed 35 people when it made landfall north of Charleston. At least 25 people were killed in South Carolina.
Property damage is expected to cost between $15 and $26 billion, according to Moody’s Analytics.
The factors that enable these storms to flourish have been made worse by climate change; in warm waters, they can strengthen quickly and become strong cyclones in a matter of hours.
Forecasters predict a new tropical storm in the Atlantic might develop into a powerful hurricane
The National Hurricane Center stated on Sunday that a fresh tropical depression in the eastern Atlantic Ocean may develop into a “formidable hurricane” later this week.
The center reported that the depression was situated approximately 585 miles (945 kilometers) to the west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, with persistent winds of 35 mph (55 kph). It might strengthen into a storm by Wednesday.
