Death toll from Hurricane Helene tops 150 in US as crews search for survivors

NEWS WIRES

1 October 2024 at 10:19 pm·2-min read

The death toll from Hurricane Helene passed 150 on Tuesday as rescue workers used helicopters to get past destroyed bridges in isolated areas battered by the storm. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will travel to Georgia to survey the impacts of Hurricane Helene on Wednesday, her office announced.

The death toll from powerful storm Helene, which battered the southeastern United States, has climbed to at least 155, authorities said Tuesday, as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris prepared to survey the damage.

Biden will head to North Carolina and South Carolina on Wednesday, while Harris, who is campaigning to succeed her boss in the Oval Office, will visit Georgia.

North Carolina and Georgia are two of the hardest-hit states, but also two key battlegrounds in the November presidential election, in which Harris is vying to defeat Republican former president Donald Trump.

At least 74 have died in North Carolina, 36 in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 14 in Florida, four in Tennessee and two in Virginia, according to tallies from local authorities and media reports compiled by AFP.

Emergency workers laboured to restore power and water services across the region. Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for, though officials have expressed hope that some will be found once cell phone service is back up.

"We know that the devastation brought by hurricane Helene is beyond belief. Communities were wiped off the map," North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said at a briefing Tuesday, admitting that he believed the death toll in his state would yet rise.

Biden responded angrily, accusing Trump of spreading lies.

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