Victims are reported in several US states. The damage is huge and work is only just beginning. Two million people are still without electricity. South Carolina was hit hardest.
According to US authorities, at least a hundred people have now died as a result of storm “Helene” in the southeast of the USA. In the particularly hard-hit state of North Carolina alone, 39 deaths were registered, as local authorities announced on Monday morning. There were another 25 deaths in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 14 in Florida, four in Tennessee and one death in Virginia.
“Helene” made landfall on the Gulf Coast in the northwest of the state of Florida on Thursday evening (local time) as a hurricane in the second highest category with wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour. The media spoke of the strongest hurricane ever to hit the Big Bend region. Big Bend refers to the stretch of coast where the North American continent merges into the Florida peninsula.
A destroyed home in the marshes of Keaton Beach, Florida. Reuters / Octavio Jones
“Help is on the way, but it will take time”
Helene later weakened into a tropical storm and continued north over the Appalachians before dissipating completely. Strong winds toppled trees, power lines and cell phone towers across the region. Relief supplies had to be brought to isolated towns by air. According to the USA Today newspaper, more than two million people were still cut off from power on Sunday evening. The number of deaths could rise even further, it was said.
In South Carolina, one of the hardest-hit states, Governor Henry McMaster appealed to the population: “It is a devastating blow, but we will get through this. Help is on the way, but it will take time.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports severe damage to water supply systems, communications networks and major transportation routes across the region.
Damage in the two to three-digit billion range
US President Joe Biden had already promised help to those affected at the weekend. Estimates of the damage caused range from 15 billion to over 100 billion dollars (13.44 to 89.62 billion euros), as insurers and forecasters announced at the weekend. The exact extent of the damage and economic losses will only become apparent in the coming days.
Tropical cyclones form over warm ocean water. According to experts, increasing global warming is increasing the likelihood of strong storms. Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins on June 1st and lasts until November 30th.
