The death toll from Hurricane Helene rose to 227 on Saturday, as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monstrous storm devastated the southeast of the country and caused deaths in six states.
Helene came ashore on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and wreaked destruction on its way north from Florida, leveling homes, destroying roads and leaving millions without power or cell phone service.
The death toll stood at 225 on Friday; The next day two more deaths were reported in South Carolina. It was not yet clear how many people were missing or unaccounted for, and the death toll could rise further.
Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Nearly half of the victims were in North Carolina, while dozens more died in the states of Georgia and South Carolina.
The city of Asheville, in the western mountains of North Carolina, was especially hard hit. A week later, workers used brooms and heavy machinery to remove mud and debris from the exterior of the New Belgium Brewing Company brewery along the French Broad River, one of thousands of businesses and homes in the city that were affected.
So far, North Carolinians have received more than $27 million in individual assistance approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said MaryAnn Tierney, regional chief of the agency. More than 83,000 people have registered for individual assistance, according to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office.
In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, FEMA-approved assistance has exceeded $12 million for the affected population, Tierney said Saturday during a news conference.
“This is critical assistance that will help people with their immediate needs, as well as travel assistance that will help them if they cannot stay in their homes,” he explained.
He encouraged residents affected by the storm to register for disaster assistance.
“It is the first step in the recovery process,” he added. “We can provide immediate relief in terms of acute needs assistance to replace food, water, medicine, critical items, as well as displacement assistance if they are unable to stay in their homes.”
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