Hurricane Helene leaves at least 69 dead as losses of a lifetime devastate residents

By Alyssa Pointer, Maria Alejandra Cardona and Octavio Jones

FLAT ROCK, North Carolina (Reuters) -States across the Southeastern U.S. started a massive cleanup and recovery effort on Sunday 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 $15 billion to more than $100 billion, 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 on Sunday. 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 on Sunday to help them get back online, FEMA said.

Roughly 2.7 million customers remained without power on Sunday, a U.S. Energy Department official said, down 40% from Friday after unprecedented storm surges, ferocious winds and perilous conditions extended hundreds of miles inland.

FLORIDA’S GULF COAST HIT

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 (2.4-3 meters) moved mobile homes, the weather service said. 

In the nearby tiny community of Spring Warrior Fish Camp, people were surveying the damage on Saturday and still waiting for emergency or first responder aid.

“No one thinks of us back here,” said David Hall, as he and his wife dug through seagrass and dead fish in the office of the hotel they owned. Many of the community’s homes are built on stilts because of a local ordinance and survived heavy damage. 

Kristin Macqueen was helping friends clean up after their house was destroyed in nearby Keaton Beach. “It’s complete devastation. Houses have just been ripped off their slabs,” she said, adding that her friend’s daughter’s Christmas ornament had just been found in the rubble.

NORTH CAROLINA FLOODS

Some of the worst rains hit western North Carolina, where almost 30 inches (76 cm) fell on Mount Mitchell in Yancey County, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center reported. 

Water washed over Lake Lure Dam in Rutherford County, and people in and around Chimney Rock described the village’s downtown as washed out. Images showed inches of mud and sediment, uprooted trees and snapped telephone poles, and buildings turned into debris.

Just to the south in eastern Tennessee, Greene County officials worried that the Nolichucky Dam was on the brink of failure, but the Tennessee Valley Authority reported late Saturday that it was stable and secure.

“As we continue to support response and recovery efforts, we will make sure that no resource is spared to ensure communities can quickly begin their road to rebuilding,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement on Sunday.

South Carolina recorded the highest death toll, with local authorities counting 24 fatalities, with falling trees contributing to many of them.

Seventeen people, including children, died in Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp said after viewing damage in Valdosta.