More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, clean-up efforts grow

FLORIDA – Rescuers struggled on Sept 28 with washed-out bridges and debris-strewn roads in the search for survivors of devastating storm Helene, which killed at least 63 people across five states and caused massive power outages.

Helene slammed into Florida late on Sept 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and surged north, gradually weakening but leaving in its wake toppled trees, downed power lines and mudslide-wrecked homes.

Federal emergencies were declared in six states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee – with more than 800 personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (Fema) deployed to assist local officials.

Now classified as a “post-tropical cyclone”, the remnants of the storm are expected to continue inundating the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians on Sept 29, according to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC).

In affected communities across the eastern coast and Midwest, storm victims and volunteers toting rubbish bags, mops and hammers tried to repair what they could and clean up the rest.

“There are only a couple of businesses open. They have limited supplies. So, I am just worried about families that have kids... getting somewhere to stay and have something to eat,” said Mr Steven Mauro, a resident of Valdosta, Georgia.

At least 24 people died in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, 10 in North Carolina and one in Virginia, according to updated reports from the local authorities and media tallied by AFP.

The National Weather Service said conditions would “continue to improve today following the catastrophic flooding over the past two days”. But it warned of possible “long-duration power outages”.

“The main issue is the electrical power,” said another man from Valdosta, who declined to give his name. “With the whole town down, the traffic lights are out... people should just stay home.”

More than 2.6 million customers were still without electricity across 10 states from Florida in the south-east to Indiana in the Midwest as of the morning of Sept 29, according to the poweroutage.us tracker website.

Helene originally slammed into Florida’s northern Gulf shore with powerful winds of 225kmh. Even as a weakened post-tropical cyclone, it has wreaked havoc.

Record levels of flooding had threatened to break through several dams, but Tennessee emergency officials said on Sept 28 that the Nolichucky Dam – which had been close to breaching – was no longer in danger of giving way, and people downriver could return home.

Massive flooding was reported in Asheville, in western North Carolina. Governor Roy Cooper called it “one of the worst storms in modern history” to hit his state.

There were reports of remote towns in the Carolina mountains without power or cellphone service, with their roads washed away or buried by mudslides.

In Cedar Key, an island city of 700 people off Florida’s Gulf Coast, the full destructive force of the hurricane was on display.

Several pastel-coloured wooden homes were destroyed, victims of record storm surges and ferocious winds.

“I have lived here my whole life, and it breaks my heart to see it. We have not really been able to catch a break,” said Cedar Key official Gabe Doty, referring to two other hurricanes in the past year.

In South Carolina, the dead included two firefighters, officials said.

Georgia’s 17 deaths included an emergency responder, according to state officials.

In the Tennessee town of Erwin, more than 50 patients and staff trapped on a hospital roof by surging flood waters had to be rescued by helicopters.

In a statement on Sept 28, US President Joe Biden called Helene’s devastation “overwhelming”.

Mr Biden was briefed by Fema administrator Deanne Criswell and Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall on “the tragic loss of life across the region”, the White House said. Ms Criswell, who went to Florida on Sept 28 to survey damage, will visit Georgia on Sept 29 and North Carolina on Sept 30.

September has been an unusually wet month around the world, with scientists linking some extreme weather events to human-caused global warming.

The North Atlantic hurricane season runs from the beginning of June to the end of November, with most of the severe storms historically forming around the end of August or beginning of September.

Forecasters are carefully watching two more named storm systems expected next week: Joyce and Hurricane Isaac.

Isaac is expected to weaken into a powerful post-tropical cyclone by the night of Sept 29 or early Sept 30, while Joyce is expected to be a tropical storm for a few more days, according to the NHC. AFP