Hurricane Helene has left a trail of destruction across the southeastern US, with the death toll rising above 40 as reported by the Guardian and the Associated Press. Georgia and South Carolina were the hardest hit states, with at least 15 and 17 storm-related deaths respectively. The fatalities included a first responder, children trapped in a burning home, and two firefighters killed by a falling tree. Additional deaths occurred in states such as North Carolina and Florida, including drownings, traffic accidents, and tree-related incidents.
The aftermath of Helene also left more than 200,000 utility customers in Ohio without power, with other states like South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina also experiencing widespread outages. Tornado warnings and infrastructure damage were reported, with a dam failure warning in Tennessee later confirmed as a false alarm.
Rescue efforts were underway to evacuate over 50 patients and staff trapped on the roof of Unicoi Hospital in Tennessee due to flooding from the nearby Nolichucky River. The situation was described as dangerous, with emergency agencies and the National Guard engaged in the rescue operation. Despite Helene being downgraded to a tropical depression, continued impacts and significant flooding were forecasted for multiple states in the coming days. The overall economic impact and damage from the storm were expected to be substantial, with tens of billions of dollars in losses predicted.
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Photo credit www.theguardian.com
