The heavy rains caused by Hurricane "Helen" in the United States, left many people stranded or homeless as efforts begin to deal with the effects of the powerful storm, which, according to CNN, has killed at least 89 people, the Associated Press reported, cited by BTA.< /strong>
"Helen" caused billions of dollars worth of destruction across vast areas of the southeastern United States. More than 2 million customers were still without power last night. Some of them also face a constant threat of flooding.
Flooding that blocked roads and downed power lines isolated the hard-hit North Carolina city of Asheville.
"Helen" made landfall in Florida's Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, then quickly swept through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, uprooting trees, destroying homes, causing rivers to overflow their banks and overflowing dams.< /p>
Deaths from the storm were reported in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
The head of the US Federal Disaster Management Agency, Dean Criswell, said the agency is actively engaged in six states after Hurricane Helen, responding to requests from governors and emergency services at the state level.
Criswell pointed out that needs differ in the six states that have declared a disaster and confirmed that conditions in the Appalachian Mountain region of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are particularly worrisome.
"The search and rescue mission is still very active in western North Carolina,'' Criswell said. " And we know that there are many communities that are cut off from the world simply because of geography," he added.
Blocked roads and destroyed bridges continue to keep some communities isolated, and severe damage to communications systems makes it difficult for residents to make emergency calls or contact anyone.
Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, said the state is working as hard as possible to get food and water to the hundreds of thousands of people stranded and isolated by Hurricane Helen. in the mountains, as rescue operations continue.
The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the effects of the hurricane and will visit those affected by "Helen" areas this week as long as it does not interfere with rescue and recovery operations.