Washington (AFP) – 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 labored 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. “The challenges are immense,” he added, offering details about power outages, blocked interstate highways, and airlifts of emergency aid to communities not reachable by road. Buncombe County in western North Carolina, home to the tourist hotspot of Asheville, was by far the most devastated with 57 fatalities. In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster shared the new toll of 36 confirmed deaths but warned, “It’s going up and there will likely be more.” More than 1.4 million households and businesses remained without power as of 2330 GMT Monday, according to tracker poweroutage.us.
Helene slammed into Florida’s northern Gulf Coast as a huge Category Four hurricane late Thursday, with winds of 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour. Even as it weakened, it tore a path of destruction stretching inland more than 500 miles. The storm became a political football when Trump headed to Georgia on Monday and accused the Biden-Harris administration of “not being responsive.” “The vice president, she’s out someplace, campaigning, looking for money,” he said. Biden responded angrily, accusing Trump of spreading lies.
Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of hurricanes because there is more energy in warmer oceans for them to feed on. When asked if global warming was to blame for the trail of destruction left by the storm, Biden said Monday: “Absolutely, positively, unequivocally, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
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