Valdosta., The fatal outcome of the passage of the powerful hurricane Helene The death toll in the United States rose to at least 91 this Sunday, with 30 of them in a single county in North Carolina, authorities reported, while rescuers try to rescue more people in several affected states in the southeast of the country.
The storm wreaked havoc in areas of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee due to its strong winds and torrential rains that left some towns in ruins, flooded roads and millions of people without power.
At least 91 people have died due to the phenomenon: 37 in North Carolina, 25 in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida and one in Virginia, according to reports from authorities and local media, compiled by AFP.
In one North Carolina county alone, Buncombe County, which includes the city of Asheville, there are 30 deaths.
“We have another devastating news. “Now we have 30 confirmed victims due to the storm,” Sheriff Quentin Miller confirmed this Sunday.
“We continue to carry out search operations and we know that these may also include recovery operations (of bodies),” he added.
The storm caused the closure of hundreds of roads and the collapse of bridges due to flooding.
“We are hearing (of) heavy damage to water supply infrastructure, communications, roads, essential routes, as well as several destroyed homes,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“It’s going to be a really complicated recovery in each of the five states that have suffered the impacts,” he added on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”
Given the situation, President Joe Biden will visit the areas most affected by the powerful hurricane at the end of this week, the White House reported.
Millions without electricity
Nearly 2.5 million customers remained without power this Sunday, according to the monitoring site poweroutage.us.
Matt Targuagno, of the US Department of Energy, assured that teams are working to restore electricity, but warned of a complex response, lasting several days.
On this same day, three flash flood alerts remained active in western North Carolina due to the risk of dam bursting, reported the director of the National Weather Service, Ken Graham.
The official added that the weather is expected to improve in the affected areas around Tuesday.
Thousands of people continued to seek help in the American Red Cross shelters, said the person in charge, Jennifer Pipa.
Supplies by air
Helene It made landfall on Thursday afternoon near Tallahassee, capital of the state of Florida, as a category 4 hurricane on a scale of 5, with winds of 225 km/h and was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, causing intense flooding.
Some of the most affected areas are in North Carolina, where rescuers were forced to airlift supplies in some areas, Governor Roy Cooper said Sunday.
“As it is so difficult to enter with trucks by land, yesterday we began transporting supplies to the region by air, including food and water,” he explained.
The director of the state’s emergency management department, William Ray, warned that conditions were extremely dangerous.
At least four interstate highways remained closed in North Carolina and Tennessee, the Department of Transportation said.
The states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina each had to close more than 100 roads, he added.
In the Georgia city of Valdosta, the storm tore roofs off buildings and road intersections were completely blocked with downed trees and poles.
“The wind began to hit very hard, it tore off branches and pieces of roof hit the sides of the building and the windows,” said Steven Mauro, a Valdosta resident.
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– 2024-10-02 08:43:50
