by Admin
Sep 27, 2024
Hurricane Helene which swept into the United States two days ago has claimed the lives of twenty three people in four states across the country.
Authorities disclosed that the storm has killed eight people in Florida, eleven in Georgia, two each in North and South Carolina including a four year old girl who died in a car accident Claremont, north of the capital city of Charlotte and also a first responder.
Officials from the National Weather Service, US Coast Guard, the Department of Energy, Urban Search and Rescue, US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response have been working overtime across the affected areas of the country.
Jennifer Pipa, who is the vice president for disaster operations for Red Cross, said that over nine thousand people have been rescued and evacuated overnight across the country and placed in 143 shelters across the country.
Ken Buell, the deputy director for response and restoration at the US Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response, disclosed that a record number of 4.4 million have been affected by power outages due to the storm that swept through the affected states.
FEMA Deputy Administrator, Erik Hooks, issued a stern warning to residents who are yet to evacuate from the affected areas, saying “Just because the storm has passed where you are doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re safe to leave your home,”.
Helene is now a tropical storm after making landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane.
Authorities disclosed that the intensity of the storm caused by Hurricane Helene was fueled by warm waters due to high temperatures caused by the use of fissile fuel.
However, the storm has been described as the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend region.