Hurricane Helene Death Toll Surpasses 200 in the US

Helicopters scoured for survivors above washed-out bridges, while rescuers trekked through the wilderness.

The death toll from Hurricane Helene rose Thursday to at least 200, authorities said, reported the Associated Press.

Helicopters scoured for survivors above washed-out bridges, while rescuers trekked through the wilderness.

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The powerful Category 4 storm brought more than 40 trillion gallons of rainfall - enough to fill Lake Tahoe - all over the southern United States, as reported by The Guardian.

"That's an astronomical amount of precipitation," Ed Clark, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Tuscaloosa, Alabama, water center, said in reporting by the Associated Press.

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The deluge created a catastrophic mixture of flooding, mudslides, and disruptions to power, internet, and water supplies.

The office of Vice President Kamala Harris announced the presidential candidate was headed to Georgia Wednesday to survey Helene's impacts on communities in the state.

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However, President Joe Biden was scheduled to tour the damage in the Carolinas, AFP said.
At least 74 people were killed in North Carolina and 39 in South Carolina, where Gov. Henry McMaster had confirmed 19 deaths, according to AFP, which obtained reports from local authorities and media.

Stefanie Scarfia of St. Petersburg, Florida was a travel nurse in North Carolina.
For nearly five days, Scarfia was stranded at Little Switzerland's Big Lynn Lodge, reported CNN.

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"I've never seen anything like this and I lived in Florida," Scarfia told the news outlet. "I've never been in something this bad.".

The landslide also prevented Scarfia from working on Friday because her car was trapped.

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"That is the biggest problem here, is the landslides. Roads are completely washed away off the side of the mountain," Scarfia, who offered her medical knowledge to those at the lodge, added.

The emergency crews are working to restore power and water services throughout the region. According to latest reports, hundreds of people are still missing, but officials believe that restoring cell service may reconnect missing residents with their loved ones.

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"We know the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene is truly unbelievable. Communities have simply been obliterated," North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said at a briefing on Tuesday, said AFP as he added that the death toll there would most likely rise.
"The challenges are huge," Cooper said.

The hardest hit were in Western North Carolina where nearly 60 deaths were recorded in Buncombe County-a place widely regarded as one of North Carolina's prettiest, beside the pretty town of Asheville.

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https://poweroutage.us/ reported nearly 900,000 customers had lost electricity by Thursday.

Helene was a monster hurricane that churned inland to over 500 miles after making landfall late Thursday of last week with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour.

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Scientists say climate change feeds the rapid intensification of hurricanes because they feed off warming oceans.

On whether global heating was the cause of Hurricane Helene's extreme level of destruction, Biden responded to the question that read, "Absolutely, positively, unequivocally, yes, yes, yes, yes."

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