the death toll now exceeds 200 in the United States

Hurricane Helene caused at least 201 deaths in the southeast of the United States, according to a report compiled Thursday October 3 by Agence France-Presse based on various declarations from local authorities.

Half of these deaths (100) were recorded in North Carolina, including 61 in the county including Swannanoa and the neighboring town of Asheville, of nearly 100,000 inhabitants in the Appalachian massif, flown over on Wednesday by the American president, Joe Biden, where considerable damage is visible in the path of the hurricane. The floods washed away bridges, filled lakes with debris, destroyed buildings, erased roads.

“What I saw there broke my heart”Joe Biden said on X. “But, on the ground, we saw neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers and staff standing side by side, and people leaning on each other. This is America.”he added. Reconstruction will require “billions of dollars and years”warned the Minister of Internal Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, aboard the presidential plane. “There are localities that have literally disappeared”he stressed. The White House announced that the president would visit Florida and Georgia on Thursday, states also affected by the hurricane.

The president announced his decision to mobilize a thousand additional troops for relief operations in North Carolina, reinforcements in addition to the thousands of rescuers and members of the National Guard, an army reserve force, already hard at work in the field.

The neighboring state of South Carolina deplores 41 deaths, Georgia 33, Florida 14, Tennessee 11, and Virginia two. Helene is thus the second deadliest hurricane to hit the United States in more than half a century, after Katrina in 2005. Scientists have linked its intensity to the warming of the seas caused by climate change. “No one can deny the impact of the climate crisis yet, at least I hope so”said Joe Biden. “They must be brain dead if that’s the case.”he added.

A disaster politically recovered

The vice-president and Democratic candidate for the November 5 presidential election, Kamala Harris, went to Georgia on Wednesday, while her opponent Donald Trump made the disaster a campaign argument and some of these Disaster states are decisive for the vote. “I am here to thank you and to listen”said M.^me Harris during a visit to the emergency operations center in Augusta. She congratulated the rescuers for their action to “meet the needs of residents”. Visiting a shelter, she also distributed meals to families affected by the hurricane and received a standing ovation when she left.

Donald Trump, for his part, visited Valdosta, a disaster-stricken town in Georgia, on Monday. “The federal state is not responsive”said the Republican candidate, in front of a partially destroyed building. He previously accused the federal government and North Carolina Democratic officials of “deliberately not helping people in Republican areas”. “He’s lying”Joe Biden was indignant the same day, denouncing comments «irresponsible». The president brushed aside Republican criticism of his handling of the crisis, ensuring that he had worked tirelessly, even if he spent the weekend at his beach house in Delaware. Joe Biden claims to have waited until Wednesday to go to the scene so as not to disrupt already difficult relief operations. “At times like this, we put political politics aside”he said in North Carolina on Wednesday.