Millions of Americans were still without power and many faced torrential flooding Saturday, officials said, as powerful Hurricane Helene struck eastern and Midwestern U.S. states, killing at least 44 people. Went.
At least 19 people died in South Carolina, 15 in Georgia, seven in Florida, two in North Carolina and one in Virginia, according to updated reports from local authorities compiled by AFP.
Repair crews were already at work after Helene hit Florida as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday and headed north, slowly weakening but leaving a path of rare devastation.
“Conditions will continue to improve today following the devastating flooding of the past two days,” the National Weather Service said.
But it warned of possible “long-term power outages”.
Although power has been restored in some areas, more than three million customers in 10 states were still without power as of Saturday afternoon, according to tracker poweroutage.us.
‘Go to higher ground’
Helene originally hit Florida’s northern Gulf Coast with winds of 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour. Even as a weak post-tropical cyclone, it has caused destruction.
Record levels of flooding threaten to breach dams A dam in Tennessee is on the verge of breaking, prompting officials to urge residents to evacuate to higher ground.
Major flooding has been reported in the city of Asheville in western North Carolina. Governor Ray Cooper called it “one of the worst hurricanes in modern history” to hit his state.
In Cedar Key, an island town of 700 people off the northwest coast of Florida, the full destructive power of the storm was visible.
Many pastel-colored wooden homes were destroyed, victims of record storm surge and high winds.
“I’ve lived here my whole life, and it breaks my heart to see this. We haven’t really been able to catch a break,” said Gabe Doty, a Cedar Key official, referring to the two first hurricanes last year. ,
‘gut punch’
The dead in South Carolina include two firefighters and six Spartanburg County residents, officials said.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s office confirmed 15 deaths in his state, including one emergency responder.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the damage caused by Helene exceeded that caused by hurricanes Idalia and Debbie, which struck the same area southeast of Tallahassee in the past 13 months.
“This is a real blow to those communities,” DeSantis told Fox News.
In the Tennessee city of Irvine, a dramatic rescue operation began as more than 50 patients and staff trapped on the roof of a hospital had to be rescued by helicopters as flood waters rose.
Up to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain was estimated in the Appalachian Mountains, with isolated locations receiving as much as 20 inches.
The remnants of a weak storm hovered over the Kentucky-Indiana border Saturday afternoon, dropping up to 2 inches of rain.
‘Massive’ damage
In a statement Saturday, President Joe Biden called Helen’s devastation “overwhelming.” He said he was sending additional response personnel as the storm moved north.
Vice President Kamala Harris said the administration has already deployed 1,500 personnel to assist affected communities.
September has been an unusually rainy month around the world, with scientists linking some of the extreme weather events to human-caused global warming.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
