Hurricane Helene kills at least 69

Workers clear Cane Creek road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene yesterday in Fairview, North Carolina. (AFP)

States across the Southeastern US started a massive cleanup and recovery effort yesterday after winds, rain and storm surges from Hurricane Helene snuffed out power for millions, destroyed roads and bridges, and caused catastrophic flooding from Florida to Virginia.
The storm killed at least 69 people, according to state and local officials in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Officials feared still more bodies would be discovered.
Damage estimates ranged from $15bn to more than $100bn, insurers and forecasters said over the weekend. Property damage and lost economic output will become clearer as officials assess the destruction.
In North Carolina, the death toll rose to 11 people, Governor Roy Cooper said yesterday. All roads in the western end of the state should be considered closed and will take months to repair, he said. Food and water is being airlifted to those areas.
“This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response,” Cooper said at a press conference.
In Flat Rock, North Carolina, there were widespread blackouts, and people waited hours in line for gas.
“Grocery stores are closed, cellphone service is out,” Chip Frank, 62, said as he entered his third hour waiting in line. “It all depends on these gas stations. You’re not going to be able to go nowhere, and it’s just a scary feeling.”
The storm has damaged water systems, communications and critical transportation routes across the region, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Army Corps of Engineers will start assessing damage to water systems yesterday to help them get back online, FEMA said.
Roughly 2.7mn customers remained without power yesterday, a US Energy Department official said, down 40% from Friday after unprecedented storm surges, ferocious winds and perilous conditions extended hundreds of miles inland.
Days of driving rain followed after Helene slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast on Thursday night, destroying homes that had stood for decades.
A total of 11 people died in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday in the Gulf Coast city of Perry, which saw 15-foot storm surges, larger than those seen in other hurricanes in recent years.
In Horseshoe Beach, on Florida’s Gulf Coast about 70 miles west of Gainesville, Charlene Huggins surveyed the debris of her blown-out house, pulling a jacket out of the rubble on Saturday.
“Five generations lived in this house, from my grandmother, my father, myself, my daughter, son and my granddaughter,” Huggins said, holding a chipped glass cake stand. “So there’s a lot of memories here. It just breaks your heart.”
Not far away, James Ellenburg stood on the property where his own family has lived for four generations. “I took my first step right here in this yard.”
In coastal Steinhatchee, a storm surge – a wall of seawater pushed ashore by winds – of eight to 10 feet moved mobile homes, the weather service said.