United States: At least 64 dead and millions without power after Helene devastates south-eastern US
At least 64 people have been confirmed dead and almost 3.5 million were without power on Saturday, after strong winds and torrential rain from Hurricane Helene wreaked unprecedented havoc across large swaths of the south-eastern United States. Historic flooding continued over parts of the southern Appalachians on Saturday, as first responders worked to reach stranded communities in trying conditions while local authorities began to assess the scale of the damage and displacement. “It looks like a bomb went off,” said Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, after surveying the damage from the air on Saturday. “To say this caught us off-guard would be an understatement,” said Quentin Miller, sheriff of Buncombe county, North Carolina, where part of Asheville is underwater and multiple cell towers remain down, hampering rescue and recovery efforts. Emergency services have declined to confirm the number of fatalities in the county until communication outages can be restored and next of kin informed. In a statement also on Saturday, Joe Biden said that the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Deanna Criswell, was travelling throughout the south-east to assess the damage alongside other state and local officials. “I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by Hurricane Helene across the south-east … My administration is in constant contact with state and local officials to ensure communities have the support and resources they need,” he said. “We’re not going to walk away. We’re not going to give up.” Kamala Harris, the vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate, released her own statement on Saturday. “My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene,” Harris said. “President Biden and I remain committed to ensuring that no community or state has to respond to this disaster alone. Federal personnel are on the ground to support families that have been impacted so that critical resources like food, water, and generators are available.” Helene made landfall late on Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a category 4 hurricane, pummeling the peninsula with winds of 140mph (225km/h). It weakened into a tropical storm, moving quickly through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, blowing roofs off homes, sweeping away cars, testing dams and flooding rivers – leaving entire communities without escape as landslides and flooding struck. Follow Link for Full Story...