Helene latest: Communities ‘wiped off map’ as 600 remain unaccounted for and officials beg for resources
‘It looks like a bomb went off,’ Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said of his state, as deaths have now been reported in North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennesse
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Donald Trump visited storm-ravaged Georgia Monday afternoon to survey recovery efforts as more than 600 people remain missing in a single North Carolina county after Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction.
At least 123 people have been killed after the hurricane slammed into Florida last Thursday then tore a path north, bringing catastrophic flooding and powerful winds.
Deaths have also been reported in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.
In Buncombe County, North Carolina at least 35 have died and fears are growing for around 600 people reported missing. Landslides have devastated the southern Appalachia region.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told CNN on Monday that communities there were “wiped off that map.”
President Joe Biden said he would visit impacted communities at a later date, so as not to disrupt response to the storm.Millions have been left without power, communications cut off and hundreds of roads closed due to damage.
Officials have warned of the challenges of getting crucial supplies such as water to those in need.
This comes as Tropical Storm Kirk is likely to become a hurricane on Tuesday.
Supplies are rushed to North Carolina communities left isolated after Helene
TV reporter interrupts live broadcast to rescue trapped woman during Hurricane Helene
Head of FEMA says ‘historic’ destruction caused by Helene is linked to climate crisis
Hurricane Hunters fly into Category 4 Hurricane Helene for important reason
How Helene became the near-perfect storm to bring widespread destruction across the South
In pictures: Destruction in Florida in the wake of Helene
Trump to visit Georgia on Monday
Donald Trump's campaign announced on Sunday he'll visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to survey Helene’s impact on that state.
The former president is expected to receive a briefing, facilitate the distribution of relief supplies and deliver remarks during the visit, according to his campaign.
The state of Georgia is one of several hotly contested battlegrounds that will be pivotal in the November presidential election.
Biden intends to visit areas affected by Helene next week
President Joe Biden says he will visit Hurricane Helene-impacted areas this week as long as it does not disrupt rescue and recovery operations.
Biden was briefed again on Sunday evening about the impact of the devastating storm on an enormous swath of the Southeast.
The president in a brief exchange with reporters on Sunday described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said that the administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.
Death toll from Helene pushes past 80
The North Carolina County of Buncombe that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed due to the storm, pushing the overall death toll to at least 84 people across several states.
Supplies were being airlifted to the region around Asheville. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water into the city — which is known for its arts, culture and natural attractions — by Monday.
“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters. “My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”
Watch: Hurricane Helene aftermath
In pictures: Asheville citizens survey damage after Helene
North Carolina county faces ‘biblical devastation'
In Buncombe County, North Carolina, authorities said around 1,000 people were still unaccounted for.
“We have biblical devastation through the county,” said Ryan Cole, an emergency official for the county, which contains the mountain city of Asheville – which was torn apart in the wake of Helene. “This is the most significant natural disaster that any one of us has ever seen.”
Asheville, which is home to about 94,000 people and is a popular tourist destination, was largely cut off by flooding on Saturday after Helene ripped through the region as a tropical storm.
Shocking footage on social media showed how waters ripped apart the village, leaving a “road to nowhere.”
Head of FEMA says ‘historic’ destruction caused by Helene is linked to climate crisis
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has said that the severe flooding and subsequent devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is linked to the climate emergency.
Deanne Criswell said that rising temperatures in the Gulf were causing conditions that caused “significant infrastructure damage” that had affected a multi-state area.
Read more here:
Head of FEMA says ‘historic’ destruction caused by Helene is linked to climate crisis
Deanne Criswell said that rising temperatures in the Gulf were causing conditions that caused ‘significant infrastructure damage’ that had affected a multi-state area
Watch: Hundreds of residents evacuated following Storm Helene flooding
Hurricane Helene flooding made worse by global heating – FEMA
Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the severe flooding caused by Helene was linked to the climate emergency.
“This storm took a while to develop, but once it did it intensified very rapidly – and that’s because of the warm waters in the Gulf that’s creating more storms that are reaching this major category level,” she said.
The conditions, Criswell said, were creating greater amounts of storm surge in the coastal areas and increased rainfall as the storms moved north.
“In the past, damage from hurricanes was primarily wind damage, but now we’re seeing so much more water damage and that is a result of the warm waters which is a result of climate change,” she told CBS’s Face The Nation.
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