Hurricane Helene has left a devastating trail of destruction as it moved through the south eastern US, with the death toll rising to at least 30. Georgia reported the highest number of fatalities, with more than one-third of the deaths in that state. Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina also reported storm-related deaths.
One of the tragic incidents in Georgia involved a first responder who lost his life while attempting to save others. In Florida’s Pinellas county, at least five people were killed, with two deaths attributed to drowning. The storm surge in Florida caused significant damage to homes and left parts of the county resembling a war zone.
In Tennessee, 50 staff and patients were trapped on the roof of Unicoi Hospital in Erwin due to rapid flooding caused by the nearby Nolichucky River. Rescue efforts were underway with assistance from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard.
While Helene has been downgraded to a tropical depression, experts are warning that the impacts of the storm, including catastrophic flooding, will continue to be felt across the region. The National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that the storm was still producing historic and catastrophic flooding, with significant impacts expected in multiple states over the next 48 hours.
While the storm has caused significant devastation and loss of life, preliminary assessments suggest that Hurricane Helene may not result in extensive insurance losses, primarily due to its initial landfall in a sparsely populated area of Florida. Meanwhile, another hurricane, Isaac, was forming in the Atlantic, bringing the total number of named active storms in the basin to three.
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