AT LEAST 133 people died after Helene hit Big Bend, Florida, United States (US), on Thursday (26/9) as a category 4 hurricane. The storm then moved north through the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia.
As of yesterday morning, the death toll in Buncombe County, North Carolina, alone reached more than 40 people and the whereabouts of 600 people were still unknown. Governor Roy Cooper told CNN on Monday that the community there was being wiped off the map.
Hundreds of roads remained closed with five bridges near the Tennessee-North Carolina border on I-40 completely destroyed. More than 1.5 million people are still without electricity.
Also read: Death toll from Hurricane Helene in Florida increases
Rescue teams in the southeastern United States continue to search for survivors with great concern. This number is expected to increase in the next few days as search and rescue operations are able to navigate areas hit by heavy flooding due to the storm.
“We saw piles of destroyed homes, damaged buildings and overturned cars,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said at a press conference. “The power cables look like spaghetti. It’s hard to describe the chaos. It really feels like a post-apocalyptic scene,” he added.
Search and rescue efforts continued to be hampered by flooding that closed hundreds of roads and prevented emergency crews from getting to destroyed areas. Many people were trapped on the roofs of their homes for days.
Also read: 50 people died as a result of Hurricane Helene hitting Florida, USA
“This is an unprecedented tragedy and requires a similar response,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said at a news conference. He added that more lives were expected as rescue teams reached remote areas cut off by floodwaters.
Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast late Thursday and created a 6,000-mile (1,046-kilometer) path of destruction all the way to the Atlantic coast state of the Carolinas. South Carolina has reported 30 fatalities so far and at least 25 people have died in Georgia. Another 13 people died in Florida, in addition to four people in Tennessee and two more people in Virginia.
More than 1.6 million people are without electricity. Electricians are working around the clock to repair the network. Officials said it would likely take several weeks for the network to recover.
Also read: After being hit by Hurricane Idalia, 3 Florida Residents Reported Dead
With many areas still cut off from the reach of rescue crews on land due to flooding, several emergency operations are now underway to send food, water and medical supplies by air to residents stranded in their neighborhoods. At least 600 people were reported missing in North Carolina, but downed telecommunications networks meant families were unable to contact their loved ones.
Emergency officials have activated disaster roaming on all mobile service providers in hopes of recontacting those missing. “By the will of God, they are still alive. However, there is no way to contact them,” President Joe Biden said at a press conference at the White House.
The president plans to visit North Carolina today to tour affected areas and meet with state officials and emergency response officials. The federal government has deployed more than 3,500 emergency personnel to assist with recovery efforts. Another 1,250 search and rescue workers will be sent to the region in the coming days. (Ant/Z-2)
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