The aftermath of Hurricane Helene is still unfolding across the Southeastern U.S., where at least 64 people have been reported dead, according to the Associated Press, and roughly 2.4 million were without power as of Sunday afternoon.
The storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane with winds reaching 140 mph. Now downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, Helene is still lingering over the Tennessee Valley, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In North Carolina, over 200 people have been rescued from floodwaters that washed away homes in several areas. Search teams are reportedly still trying to find over a thousand missing people in North Carolina and Tennessee. Meanwhile, about 1,100 residents are staying in emergency shelters in North Carolina as the state deals with widespread damage.
As of Sunday morning, at least 64 people have been killed across five states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. According to the New York Times, the fatalities have reportedly been attributed to various causes, including flooding, falling trees and car accidents.
In Florida, where Helene initially made landfall, 11 people have been confirmed dead, per Reuters. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described “complete obliteration” in parts of the state, with 90% of homes in communities like Keaton Beach on the west coast of Florida, still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in 2023, reportedly being washed away.
As of Sunday, 24 people have been confirmed dead in South Carolina — the most of any state so far as a result of the storm — prompting the state’s weather agency to call it “the worst event in our office’s history” in a Facebook post Saturday evening. Over 20 people, including children, died in Georgia as a result of Helene.
As of 2:41 p.m. ET on Sunday, nearly 2.4 million homes and businesses across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia remain without power.
South Carolina was hit hardest, with almost 870,000 residents still in the dark as of the latest update. Georgia follows with more than 656,000 customers without electricity, while North Carolina has just over 526,000 affected. In Florida, around 194,000 people remain without power, and over 127,000 are still impacted in Virginia.
AccuWeather estimates the total cost of Helene's damages and economic losses will be between $95 billion and $110 billion, positioning it as one of the costliest storms in U.S. history. For comparison, Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Harvey (2017) each caused around $125 billion in damages, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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