Hurricane Helene left more than one hundred dead across six southeastern U.S. states by Sunday night, including North Carolina, where the majority of fatalities were recorded, prompting the government to authorize a “major disaster” declaration to expedite relief efforts.
The latest official count placed the death toll at 93 across six states. The most affected was North Carolina, where officials counted 36 dead, followed by 25 in South Carolina, including two firefighters; 17 in Georgia; 11 in Florida; two in Virginia; and two more in Tennessee.
The number could increase overnight, as CBS reported a death toll of 105, with 30 deaths in Buncombe County, North Carolina, one of the hardest-hit areas.
Helene made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane on Florida’s southeast coast and moved northward, bringing torrential rains and hurricane-force winds that left behind devastating scenes, now being handled by rescue and recovery teams.
North Carolina has been particularly hard-hit, especially in its western region. Asheville, for example, has been partially submerged, with houses destroyed and streets filled with debris, according to local media.
Governor Roy Cooper explained in a press conference that heavy rains in the state’s mountains caused landslides that swept away roads, knocked down power lines, and toppled telecommunication towers on their way to residential areas.
About 280 state roads remain closed, complicating emergency operations, so authorities are airlifting resources, food, and water to those trapped. Additionally, around 1,000 people are in shelters, Cooper said.
North Carolina’s airports in Asheville and Charlotte, two of the country’s main airports, have been affected by cancellations and delays, though most of their operations continue.
The governor called Helene “one of the worst storms in modern history” for the state and anticipated more victims, as there are numerous reports of missing persons.
A similar situation is unfolding in Unicoi County, eastern Tennessee, where authorities are searching for over 70 missing people, according to a Sunday morning press conference.
The hardships are being worsened by power outages, leaving 2.4 million people without electricity in the five most affected southeastern states and another 130,000 in five neighboring northern states where the hurricane weakened.
Helene, which weakened into a post-tropical cyclone on Friday, is no longer being monitored by weather authorities but will continue to bring heavy rains through tomorrow in the southern Appalachian mountain range.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is coordinating hundreds of personnel in rescue and recovery efforts. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell noted on X that some communities hit by Helene were still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia (2023).
