Hurricane Helene death toll rises, North Carolina reels

What happened

The death toll from Hurricane Helene rose above 95 Monday morning as officials assessed the damage from catastrophic flooding and scrambled to get potable water, food and electricity to hard-hit regions. At least 30 people died from storm-related causes in Asheville, North Carolina, and its surrounding Buncombe County. South Carolina confirmed 25 deaths and Georgia reported 17. Deaths from Helene were also recorded in Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. Hundreds of people were still unaccounted for, especially in mountainous western North Carolina.

Who said what

"This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said Sunday afternoon. In Georgia, where Atlanta was among the areas hit by flooding, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said parts of his state looked "like a bomb went off."

Since Helene made landfall in Florida late Thursday, it has "turned neighborhoods into lakes, lifted cars like toys, snapped trees like twigs and left businesses underwater," CNN said. Mud and floating detritus blocked hundreds of roads, including Interstate 40 around Asheville, and ongoing search-and-rescue operations were hampered by cellular and WiFi outages. "This is going to be a really complicated recovery," FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told CBS's "Face the Nation."

Asheville's Biltmore Village and the River Arts District were "walloped by severe flooding" and still underwater yesterday, The New York Times said. Nearby towns including Swannanoa were largely destroyed. President Joe Biden said Saturday that the "devastation we're witnessing in Hurricane Helene's wake has been overwhelming."

What next?

Biden said Sunday he would visit "impacted communities" this week, "as soon as it will not disrupt emergency response operations." Swollen rivers and creeks and emergency dam releases prompted ongoing flash flood warnings in the Southern Appalachians. Meanwhile, a tropical depression in the eastern Atlantic could turn into a "formidable hurricane" later this week, the National Hurricane Center said yesterday. The hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

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