Millions of Americans continued this Saturday without electricity and many faced floods “catastrophic”, while the remnants of the powerful Hurricane Helene hit the eastern and midwestern states of the United States, where their passage leaves at least 53 dead.
The teams of rescue They are working to restore power and deal with the consequences of massive floods, which have destroyed homes, roads and businesses in several states.
At least 22 people have died in Carolina of the South, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, two in Carolina of the North and one in Virginia, according to a balance prepared by AFP based on statements from local authorities.
“I am deeply saddened by the human losses and the devastation caused by the Hurricane Helene“said the American president on Saturday, Joe Biden. “The road to recovery will be long,” he added.
In Cedar Keyan island of just a few hundred people off the west coast of Florida, roofs were ripped off and walls were blown open.
“It breaks my heart to see this,” Gabe Doty, a municipal employee, told AFP. “Many houses have disappeared, the market has disappeared. The post office has disappeared. It is a real tragedyand it will be difficult to rebuild,” he commented.
Helene touched land Thursday afternoon around Tallahasseecapital of the state of Florida, as a category 4 hurricane on a scale of 5, with winds of 225 km/h, and continued to wreak havoc even after weakening to cyclone posttropical.
The storm then continued across several states, causing intense floodsbefore gradually losing strength.
-Progressive improvements –
“Conditions will improve on Saturday, after floods catastrophic events of the last two days,” said the National Hurricane Center (CNH) from the United States.
However, the storm has left vast areas destroyed by slides of land and floods, even in distant places like Asheville, in Carolina northern.
“This is one of the worst storms in modern history in parts of western Carolina of the North,” said its governor, Roy Cooperat a press conference Friday night.
The operations of rescue They continue, his office said.
More than a million customers remained without electricity on this Saturday afternoon in Carolina in the South and another 730,000 in Georgia, plus several hundred thousand in other states, according to the tracking website poweroutage.com.
Helene moved over especially warm waters after forming in the Gulf of Mexico.
“It is likely that these very warm waters influenced the rapid intensification Helene,” climatologist Andra Garner told AFP.
According to scientists, by heating the masses of water of the ocean, the climate change increases the likelihood of storms intensifying rapidly and the risk of more powerful hurricanes.
