USA: Hurricane Helen kills over 44 across several states
At least 44 people have died in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, which resulted in billions of dollars of destruction across a wide swath of the southeastern U.S., in addition to major electricity outages affecting millions of citizens.
From Tallahassee in Florida to Charlotte in North Carolina, strong gusts of winds and torrential rains have led to flash floods, fallen trees, and damaged homes.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm, now a post-tropical cyclone, was expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday. Accordingly, several flash flood warnings remained in effect in parts of the southern and central Appalachians, while high wind warnings also covered parts of Tennessee and Ohio.
Hurricane Helen made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend late Thursday as a Category 4 storm with winds reaching 225 kph, swiftly moving through Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee, causing significant material damage, particularly in Western North Carolina, which was cut off due to landslides and road closures.
Among the 44 confirmed fatalities were three firefighters, a woman with her 1-month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman struck by a falling tree, in addition to other death cases reported across several states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
