ReutersHurricane Helene left a “biblical disaster” in parts of North Carolina, officials said, after it tore through five southeastern US states and left more than 60 people dead.
A clearer picture of the devastation in hard-hit North Carolina emerged on Sunday, when, after tearing through Florida and Georgia, Helene brought torrential rain and flooded towns and mudslides.
More than 400 roads are closed in the province, where 11 people they are dead. Homes have been destroyed, towns have been cut off, water systems have collapsed and hundreds of thousands are without electricity.
“This storm caused the most damage … in history,” Governor Roy Cooper said.
The American Red Cross has opened more than 140 shelters for those displaced from their homes in the southeastern states. There are more than 2,000 people in shelters, the organization said on Sunday.
In North Carolina’s Buncombe County, Sheriff Quentin Miller said about 1,000 people are missing.
“We have biblical damage all over the county,” said Ryan Cole, emergency chief for the county, which includes the mountain city of Asheville. “This is the most significant natural disaster that any of us has ever seen.”
Asheville, home to about 94,000 people and a popular tourist destination, was largely cut off by flooding on Saturday after Helene tore through the region as a tropical storm.
ReutersErin Quevedo, owner of a flooded salon in the city, spoke to TAsheville Citizen Times while ankle deep in mud.
“The hair salon was completely destroyed. It looks like the water reached about five meters inside,” he said. “Right now, all we’re doing is trying to salvage what we can.”
Rescue operations are underway in North Carolina and supplies, including food and water, are being airlifted to affected areas that cannot be reached due to closed roads.
“People are desperate for help and we’re trying to bring it to them – [it is] great effort,” Governor Cooper said.
The North Carolina National Guard has rescued more than 119 people — including one infant, according to Major General Todd Hunt. He said there were 41 major rescues north of Asheville.
Many gas stations are closed across North Carolina with long lines of cars at those that are still open. Meanwhile, the few supermarkets that are open are filled with customers trying to buy bottled water.
More than 300,000 North Carolinians were without power as of Sunday morning, officials said. This, combined with the outage of cell phone services, has made it difficult to reach those who call emergency services.
Another challenge was navigating fallen trees and debris, and officials in the worst-hit area of ​​western North Carolina said all roads there were closed.
Helene began as a hurricane – the strongest on record to hit Florida’s Big Bend, and moved north into Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee after making landfall Thursday night.
Damages are estimated at between $95bn and $110bn (£71bn-£82bn). The extent of the destruction will become clearer in the coming days.
The search for survivors continues and states of emergency have been declared for six states, including Florida and Georgia.
As of Sunday morning, 63 people have been confirmed dead in five states, according to the BBC affiliate CBS US, but that number is expected to rise as search efforts find more victims.
The highest death toll in a single state was South Carolina, where 24 people were killed. 17 people died in Georgia and 11 were killed in Florida, according to the governors of the two states.
“The damage we saw when Hurricane Helene hit was enormous,” said President Joe Biden on Saturday.
He was briefed by Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who ordered him to speed up support for hurricane survivors, including sending additional teams to North Carolina.
Although Helene has weakened significantly, forecasters are warning that strong winds, flooding and the threat of hurricanes may continue.
There could be as many as 25 named storms by 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned earlier this year.
Between eight and 13 of those storms could become hurricanes and several already have, including Helene. More storms could be on the way, officials warned, as the official end of the hurricane season comes on November 30.
