The number of people killed by Hurricane Helene in six US states rises to 227 | cnn

(CNN) – The death toll from Hurricane Helene rose to at least 227 in six states, according to CNN, after two more deaths were announced Saturday in South Carolina.

Helene is the second deadliest hurricane to hit the continental US in the past 50 years, after Hurricane Katrina, which killed at least 1,833 people in 2005.

Below is a breakdown of deaths by state:

North Carolina: 113 personalities
South Carolina: 48 people
Georgia: 33 characters
Florida: 20 characters
Tennessee: 11 characters
Virginia: 2 people

a week agoa, Helene was going into Floridahitting cities and towns on the Gulf Coast as millions of people, during the hurricane, dealt with rain that was ahead of even more rain. Analysts warned of repercussions that would be felt within the country.

In the southeast, the roads were covered with cars, not water. The bridges were still standing. The lights were still on. The town of Chimney Rock, home to a popular state park in North Carolina, stunning scenery and an iconic rock formation, still awaited the arrival of visitors.

A week later, confirmed the death of 200 people in six statesmaking Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States since then Hurricane Katrina in 2005. On Thursday, eight more deaths were announced in Georgia, and authorities in western Florida reported another.

Survivors are still in disbelief after the historic storm hit their homes and communities. Chimney Rock was swept away, as were roads and bridges in the path of the great storm.

The survivors help each other, give each other food and water, help dig and cut downed trees. Everyone is hoping for small wins, like getting cell phone service back or finding an open gas station.

Nearly a million customers were still without power Thursday morning,hit PowerOutage.us. Most are in the Carolinas, where regional energy supplier Duke Energy says “significant parts of the electric grid… They were just devastated. “.

Helene’s flash floods brought down so many utility poles and power lines that infrastructure must be rebuilt before power can be restored.

In some counties in Georgia and one in North Carolina, utilities say more than 90% of their customers are still without power. In a small county in southern Georgia, 99% of homes and businesses are without power.

Hundreds of roads remain closed, making it difficult to send aid to the most affected communities. And for those who have left Helene before, they have delayed returning to check on their family, friends and the state of their homes. Some areas are so hard to get to Products are delivered by mule and by air.

In Weaverville, North Carolina, things are getting better for about 5,000 residents, but “they’re still pretty bad,” Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons told CNN on Wednesday. The mayor was speaking from the grocery store – the only place in town where Wi-Fi worked, he said.

Relief efforts in damaged areas are increasing as technicians restore power and military and aid agencies bring in personnel and supplies. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden sent 1,000 troops from Fort Liberty in eastern North Carolina to the devastated western part of the state. Biden visited North Carolina and South Carolina on Wednesday, and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Augusta, Georgia, a city that remains under a curfew and a boil water advisory.

Before Helene, Katie Button’s popular restaurants Cúrate and La Bodega in Asheville, North Carolina were thriving. Now, he says it could be up to a month before restaurants even have access to running water.

While the community is trying understand the extent of the destruction Helene has caused, Button told CNN that he is focused on doing what he can to help those most in need.

His restaurants have partnered with World Central Kitchen, by chef José Andrés, to distribute food and water to those who are isolated after the storm.

They believe they will have prepared 3,000 meals for the residents of Asheville and the surrounding community by the end of Wednesday.

“We can do it because World Central Kitchen gives us water,” Button said.

“We make at least 1,000 meals a day. And then they send these meals in a helicopter to people who are completely isolated from road access. “There are so many challenges.”

Robert Gaudet, founder and CEO Cajun Navya volunteer disaster rescue and response team, has seen firsthand the devastation caused by dozens of natural disasters.

But the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene left him speechless.

“We have had many disasters. We went to Maui because of the wildfires. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

“When meters of buildings are filled with mud and houses and a whole city is washed into a lake… and it’s not just what you see, but you can drive for hours and hours and destroy them and to see the damage, you quickly lose the sense of what “life has been and what it is like for you.”

Gaudet, who founded the Cajun Army after Katrina, said the death toll is still difficult for him.

“We see a lot (disasters) and it’s terrible to hear that more than 100 people have lost their lives, and that’s the ones we know so far,” he said.

Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite Internet service, announced that it will provide free service for 30 days in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

“For those affected by Hurricane Helene, or who want to support response and recovery efforts in the affected areas, Starlink is now free for 30 days,” he said. Starlink said in X.

After 30 days, customers will move to a “paid residential subscription, tied to the location currently in use,” the company said, adding: “We will reevaluate as needed based on local conditions”.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still working with state and local officials to determine how many people are missing after Helene, Administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Wednesday.

More than 3,500 FEMA personnel have been deployed — including 1,200 in North Carolina alone — to help with search and rescue and recovery efforts, Criswell said.

“In terms of damage to water, mobile phone and electricity infrastructure, the ability to restore them is complicated because of the way (the mountainous area) is set up,” he said.

The agency is adding additional staff, Criswell said, and it will take weeks, not days, to repair some of the facilities.

“We know it’s going to be a steady job,” he said. “How do we continue to provide resources that will sustain the need for the next few weeks, or however long it takes to restore some of these critical services, such as water, in these communities ?”

The administrator said his agency is working with cell phone companies to bring “cell phones on wheels,” or portable COWS, to ensure residents can call emergency services and dispatch – love

“We’re seeing cell phone service starting to improve, but we know it’s still limited in many areas,” Criswell said. “We’re going to put in more so we can expand that reach.”

He urged those unable to find their loved ones to call 211 to help report what was missing.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated Helene’s ranking among the deadliest hurricanes. It is the deadliest since Katrina.

CNN’s Emma Tucker, Chelsea Bailey and Andy Rose contributed to this report.