Helene kills at least 90 people, houses and memories are washed away

FLAT ROCK, North Carolina, Sept 29 (Reuters) – The southeastern United States began a massive cleanup and recovery operation on Sunday and the death toll rose to 100 after Hurricane Helene knocked out power to millions, roads and had destroyed bridges and caused dramatic flooding in Florida to Virginia.

The storm’s winds, rain and storm surge killed at least 90 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia, according to a Reuters tally of state and local officials.

Officials feared more bodies would be discovered.

With cell phone towers down across the region, hundreds of people had yet to contact their families and were listed as missing.

Damage estimates ranged from $15 billion to more than $100 billion, insurers and forecasters said over the weekend, as water systems, communications and key transportation routes were affected.

Property damage and lost economic output become more apparent as officials assess the destruction.

In North Carolina, nearly all of the deaths occurred in Buncombe County, where 30 people died, Sheriff Quentin Miller said in a video conference with reporters.

District Manager Avril Pinder said she was asking the state for emergency food and drinking water. Streets in the quaint town of Asheville were inundated by floodwaters.

“This is a devastating disaster of historic proportions,” Gov. Roy Cooper told CNN. “People I talk to in western North Carolina say they’ve never seen anything like this.”

Search and rescue teams from 19 states and the U.S. government have converged on the state, Cooper said, adding that some roads could take months to repair.

Flat Rock, North Carolina experienced widespread power outages and people waited in line for hours for gas.

“Grocery stores are closed, cell service is down,” said Chip Frank, 62, as he stood in line for the third time. “It all depends on these gas stations. You won’t be able to go anywhere and it’s just a scary feeling.”

About 2.7 million customers across the South were without power Sunday, a U.S. Energy Department official said, down 40% from Friday, after unprecedented storm surges, fierce winds and dangerous conditions stretched hundreds of miles inland.

According to those states’ governors, South Carolina reported 25 deaths, Georgia 17 and Florida 11.

CNN reported a total of 93 deaths across the South, citing state and local officials.

President Joe Biden plans to visit affected areas this week as soon as he can do so without disrupting emergency services, the White House said.

“It’s tragic,” Biden told reporters on Sunday, promising recovery aid after declaring major disasters in Florida and North Carolina and emergencies for Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama. “You’ve seen the photos. It’s breathtaking.”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to assess storm damage and “facilitate the distribution of relief supplies,” his campaign said.

In Horseshoe Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast, about 75 miles (120 km) west of Gainesville, Charlene Huggins surveyed the rubble of her blown-up home on Saturday and pulled a jacket from the rubble.

“Five generations have lived in this house, from my grandmother, my father, myself, my daughter, my son and my granddaughter,” Huggins said, holding a chipped glass cake stand. “So there are 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.”

The roof of a house lay flat in the dirt and the walls had been blown away.

On the Steinhatchee coast, a storm surge – a wall of seawater pushed ashore by the wind – 8 to 10 feet high moved mobile homes, the weather service said.

Other areas experienced a storm surge of 15 feet (4.5 meters).

In the nearby small community of Spring Warrior Fish Camp, people surveyed the damage Saturday and were still waiting for emergency assistance or first responders.

“Nobody here thinks about us,” David Hall said as he and his wife rummaged through seaweed and dead fish in the office of the hotel they owned. Many of the community’s houses are built on stilts due to a local ordinance and have survived severe damage.

Kristin Macqueen helped friends clean up after her home was destroyed in nearby Keaton Beach. “It’s complete devastation,” she said. “Houses were just ripped off their boards.”

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