90 Dead and Counting: The Aftermath of Hurricane Helene 

United States: Hurricane Helene knocked out electricity for more than 2 million people by Sunday evening across the Southeast; over 430,000 of them in North Carolina, where the storm killed at least 15 people, destroyed homes, left others trapped inside, triggered landslides, and inundated entire communities in a matter of days. 

As reported by USA Today, at least 90 people have died across multiple states since the record storm hit Florida’s Big Bend as a category 4 hurricane with 140mph winds on Thursday, then traversed Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas before weakening to a post-tropical cyclone. They foresee that the death toll will increase. 

On Sunday North Carolina officials were still struggling to fathom the scale of the disaster. At least 11 are confirmed dead in the devastated state said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper at a news conference and added that there will be more fatalities. 

Through the Buncombe County website a portal to report missing persons has been opened and Pinder noted a figure above 1000 however when asked she opined that once the cell service is working the figure is likely to be significantly lower. Emergency teams are’still operating round the clock and their aim is to get every individual they can.” Pinder explained. 

Around 300 roads were reported to have been destroyed by flood, over 250000 populations of the areas were left without cell network service, and huge portions of cities including Asheville was flooded. Cooper stated the storm had turned into “one of the worst storms in modern history for some places in North Carolina.” 

Authorities reported that by water and helicopter , over 200 people were saved in the state earlier, according to officials. 

As the assistant director of Buncombe County Emergency Services Ryan Cole pointed out the extent of such wreckage was massive. This we have biblical devastation through the county. We’ve had biblical flooding here,” Cole said. 

At least two people in the eastern Tennessee have diet due to the recent devastation, which is caused by Helene officials said on Sunday, one death was confirmed in Unicoi County and the other in the Johnson County. 

We do expect this number to change, and the spokesperson Myron Hughes of the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said during a 5 PM news conference. 

Tennessee officials reported that 153 people were still unaccounted for  for in the state as of Sunday afternoon. 

Many of the communities across eastern Tennessee were still underwater and coping with the crumbled roads unsteady bridges and devastated utility systems. The remnants of the Helen brought rivers to the record levels and forced evacuations. 

Local school remained closed, including Carter County School which will likely be closed for  an indefinite period of time due to the ongoing disruptions and count spokesperson Ivan Sanders said. 

In the Elizabethton, Sycamore Shores Hospital had shut down, but the nearby hospitals were up and running, according to the Sanders.