Hurricane Helene | Florida recovers, North Carolina weathers the storm

(Perry) Authorities flew supplies to the hurricane-flooded city of Asheville, North Carolina Helene. Attempts were also made to restore communications there and free the roads. The storm spent the last few days on the coast of Florida. On Sunday, residents of the “Sunny State” gathered in the rubble to celebrate mass.

The massive rains caused by the powerful Helene have left people stranded, homeless and awaiting rescue across the southeastern United States. Cleanup continued Sunday after a storm that killed at least 64 people, caused widespread destruction and left millions without power.

As the sun rose over Big Bend in Florida after the hurricane Helene hit the region, many places of worship were still dealing with power outages, damaged roofs and debris from the hurricane. All accompanied by a thought for the many faithful who are still suffering the ravages of the devastating storm.

More than 1,000 miles away in Texas, Jessica Drye Turner cried out for help for family members stranded on their roof in Asheville surrounded by rising waters. “They watch 18-wheelers and cars float around them,” M wrote^me Turner in an urgent message posted on Facebook Friday.

In a follow-up message, which circulated widely on social media on Saturday, the woman sadly noted that help did not arrive in time to save her parents, both in their 70s, and her six-year-old nephew. The roof collapsed and the three drowned.

“I cannot express in words the sadness, grief and devastation my sisters and I are going through nor imagine the pain that awaits us,” she wrote.

Helene the devastating

Helene washed ashore the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane Thursday evening with winds of 225 km/h.

From there, the storm quickly moved into Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it “looked like a bomb went off” after seeing destroyed homes and debris-covered highways from the area. Weakened, Helene then flooded the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, causing streams and rivers to overflow while straining dams.

Western North Carolina was isolated due to landslides and flooding that forced the closure of many roads including Interstate 40. Hundreds of water rescues took place, the most spectacular being from rural Unicoi County in eastern Tennessee. Dozens of patients and staff there were picked up from a hospital roof by helicopter on Friday. Rescues continued the next day in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where part of Asheville was under water.

The storm was expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley Saturday and Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

It triggered the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. The Municipality of Spruce Pine received more than 0.6 meters of precipitation between Tuesday and Saturday.

In Big Bend, Florida, some lost almost everything they owned, emerging from the storm without even a pair of shoes. While places of worship were still dark Sunday morning, with 97% of households without power, some churches canceled regular services while others, like Faith Baptist Church in Perry, chose to celebrate their worship outside.

Standing water and tree debris still cover the grounds of Faith Baptist Church. The church called on parishioners to come and pray for the community in a message posted on its social media.

“Still no electricity or water — so toilets won’t be available.” We have chairs, you can also bring your own! » we can read on their Facebook page.

In Atlanta, 11 inches of rain fell in 48 hours. It was the most rainfall the city has seen in two days since record keeping began in 1878.

President Joe Biden on Saturday called the devastation caused by Helene and pledged to send aid to affected areas. He also approved a state of disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funds available for those affected.

A deadly hurricane

With at least 25 dead in South Carolina, Helene is the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since the hurricane Hugo killed 35 people when it made landfall just north of Charleston in 1989. Deaths were also reported in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Moody’s Analytics Group said it expected property damage of US$15 billion to US$26 billion. AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate of total damage and economic losses caused by Helene in the United States is between 95 and 110 billion US.

Evacuations began before the storm hit and continued as lakes, including the one seen in the film, Lascivious danceoverflowed the dams. Helicopters were used to rescue some people from flooded homes.

Among the 11 confirmed deaths in Florida were nine people who drowned in homes in a mandatory evacuation zone in Pinellas County, which borders the Gulf, said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

None of the victims were from Taylor County, where the storm made landfall. The arrival ofHelene was near the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 30 kilometers northwest of where Hurricane Idalia struck last year with similar ferocity.

Taylor County is in the Big Bend and had been spared hurricanes for years. But after facing Idalia and two other storms in just over a year, the region is starting to resemble a hurricane highway.

“It makes us realize the reality of natural disasters,” said John Berg, 76, who lives in the small fishing town of Steinhatchee, a popular place to spend the weekend by the sea.

Climate change has exacerbated the conditions that allow these storms to develop. They intensify quickly in warmer waters and can sometimes take a few hours to develop into powerful cyclones.

Helene was the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on 1^er June this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-average season due to record ocean temperatures.