At least 64 deaths, streets flooded by unprecedented storms, damage to structures and more than four million people without electricity make up the bleak picture in the southeast of the USA, after the passage of Hurricane Helene, with winds that reached 225 km/h .
The number of victims was updated on Saturday night (28), according to the agency AP Newsbut authorities continue to search for the missing.
At least 25 deaths were reported in South Carolina, where the tropical cyclone was considered the deadliest for the state since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 people when it made landfall north of Charleston in 1989.
In total, to date, 11 deaths have also been reported in Florida, with nine victims of drowning in their homes in a mandatory evacuation area. The rest occurred in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.
Hurricane Helene caused the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina, where Governor Roy Cooper called the situation “catastrophic.” The state needed assistance from search and rescue teams from 19 other states and the federal government.
US President Joe Biden spoke out about the natural disaster this Saturday, saying that its devastation was “overwhelming” for the country. The Democrat promised to send aid to affected states, in addition to approving a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for victims.
Hurricane Helene hit the country’s coast around 11pm local time on Thursday near the city of Perry, in the northwest Florida region known as Big Bend, with maximum sustained winds of 225 km/h.
On Friday, more than 700 flights were canceled in the US, the vast majority of them scheduled to depart or arrive at the international airports of Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Tampa, Florida.
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