The widespread devastation left by Hurricane Helene has become increasingly evident, after causing landslides and flooding like never before seen, mainly in the North Carolina region.
According to CBS News, the storm has killed nearly 160 people, making it one of the deadliest storms to hit the United States in modern history. This comes as search and rescue teams work to find hundreds more people still unaccounted for, five days after it made landfall in Florida.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Tuesday that the remnants of Hurricane Helene killed 36 people in the state, bringing the total death toll from the storm to 159.
McMaster announced three more deaths during a news conference in West Columbia, South Carolina.
Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane and, within hours, was on the doorstep of North Carolina, knocking out power and destroying homes. That was between Thursday and Friday.
“Communities were wiped off the map. Dozens of lives lost. Hundreds of roads remain damaged or impassable. Communication has been difficult due to power and cell phone outages,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said Tuesday.
In this state, where there are still about 400 roads and tracks closed or impassable, the National Guard has managed to rescue about 500 people, according to local authorities, and 92 search and rescue teams are operating throughout the state, as are trying to access western areas.
In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, about 40 deaths have been reported, while in all of North Carolina the figure reaches 56; without a doubt the state with the highest number of deaths due to Helene, which made landfall last Thursday night in northwest Florida and from there left a trail of more than 800 kilometers of destruction.
In Asheville, the latest official figures point to about 600 people missing or incommunicado after the historic floods that have been recorded in the tourist town nestled in the Blue Ridge mountain range, at about 650 meters high.
Keep reading:
• Hurricane Helene leaves more than 115 dead and hundreds missing in the US.
• Storm Helene conditions could make it a major hurricane this Thursday
• They search for Hispanics missing in Tennessee after the passage of Hurricane Helene
