The human toll from Hurricane Helen, which wreaked havoc in the southeast of the United States, has risen to at least 100 deaths, authorities announced on Monday. The reaction of public authorities to the disaster is taking hold in the presidential campaign.
Faced with this heavy toll and the destruction ravaging the region, the two contenders for the White House announced that they would go to the affected states, where rescuers are trying to find survivors and bring food to residents affected by flooding, power outages and blocked roads.
Republican Donald Trump is expected Monday in Georgia, a hard-hit state which is also one of the key states in a race for the White House which promises to be very close.
Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris announced she would visit soon while President Joe Biden speaks at 10:30 a.m. (4:30 p.m. Swiss) from the White House.
Helene made landfall in northwest Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane on a scale of 5, packing winds measured at 225 km/h. As it progressed north, the hurricane lost intensity but left behind a landscape of desolation.
The sudden floods in the southern Appalachian Mountains caused the most impressive destruction. Images from around Asheville, North Carolina, show neighborhoods wiped off the map here, roads destroyed by a flooded river there. Due to lack of access by road, the authorities are sending relief supplies, water and foodstuffs by air.
Global warming
In North Carolina, the most affected state, the death toll now stands at at least 39 deaths, including 30 in Buncombe County alone where Asheville is located. At least 25 people also died in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 14 in Florida, four in Tennessee and one in Virginia, according to a report compiled by AFP from statements by local authorities.
After forming in the Gulf of Mexico, Helen moved over particularly warm waters. ‘It is likely that these very warm waters played a role in the rapid intensification of Helene,’ said climatologist Andra Garner, for AFP.
By warming sea waters, climate change makes rapid intensification of storms more likely and increases the risk of more powerful hurricanes, scientists say.
In North Carolina, ‘the rivers are still rising, so the danger is not over, the floods are probably not over,’ state Governor Roy Cooper warned Monday morning on CNN. Several sections of highways are cut.
Key states
In the region, teams are working to restore power and the telephone network, which was heavily disrupted. As of Monday morning, nearly two million customers were without electricity, including some 750,000 in South Carolina and 570,000 in Georgia, according to the poweroutage.us website.
‘There are just a few businesses open, with limited stocks. I’m worried about families with children,’ Steven Mauro, a resident of Valdosta, Georgia, told AFP.
‘The main problem is the power’, comments another resident, saying that people should stay at home because ‘the traffic lights are out of order’.
It is in this town in Georgia, near Florida, that Donald Trump is going on Monday to discuss the damage caused by Hélène and speak to the press.
On Sunday, his campaign team accused Kamala Harris and Joe Biden of not intervening enough to help the victims. Two of the most affected states, Georgia and North Carolina, are among the seven pivotal states that could swing the election in November.
“We will help these communities for as long as it takes to ensure they can recover and rebuild,” Kamala Harris said Sunday during a campaign rally in Las Vegas. His schedule includes a meeting Monday afternoon on the subject.
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