The death toll from Hurricane Helene surged to 64 people Saturday evening as the powerful storm caused widespread destruction across the southeast.
Among the dead are three firefighters, a mother and her 1-month-old twins and an 89-year-old woman who was struck by a tree that hit her house.
Eleven of the confirmed deaths came from Florida, including nine people who drowned in their homes in a mandatory evacuation area on the Gulf Coast in Pinellas County, officials said.
The total death toll is only expected to rise as recovery efforts continue — rescuers boosted searches Saturday after the monstrous storm was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.
Dozens of other municipalities reported deaths, but have not released specifics, citing downed cell towers that have hindered efforts to contact next of kin.
Thousands of other survivors have been left stranded and without shelter. Millions of others are without power.
“It looks like a bomb went off,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air.
Hundreds of water rescues have already been conducted across Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — including the dramatic helicopter rescue of 18 patients and staff from a hospital rooftop.
Western North Carolina was isolated because of landslides and the worst flooding in a century that forced the closure of Interstate 40 and other roads. Gov. Roy Cooper described it as “catastrophic” as search and rescue teams from 19 states and the federal government came to help.
Helene marks the deadliest tropical cyclone to hit South Carolina since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 people in 1989.
The mega-storm also broke records in Atlanta, Georgia — which recorded 11.12 inches in 48 hours, the most the city has seen over two days since record-keeping began in 1878.
The total losses from Helene will be between $95 billion and $110 billion, according to an AccuWeather estimate, taking into account damage to homes, businesses, roads, vehicles and the effects of power outages, lost wages, flight delays, supply chain impacts and more.
Airlines were recovering after massive delays and widespread cancellations Friday. There were 1,300 flight delays and 135 cancellations across the US at midday Saturday, according to tracking service FlightAware.
The losses from Helene could place it as one of the most destructive storms to hit the U.S.
Helene, which made landfall in Florida Friday, is expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley through Sunday, prolonging the chances of intense flooding.
Remnants of the storm fell as light rain on the NYC region Saturday, and were expected to continue into the start of the work week.
With Post Wires
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