Hurricane Helene claims at least 40 lives - Southeast USA in ruins!
USA - The devastating storm "Helene" has claimed numerous lives in the south-east of the USA and left a trail of devastation in its wake.
According to US media, at least 40 people died as a result of the storm in several states.
The destruction caused by the storm stretched hundreds of kilometers inland from Florida in the south. In Tennessee, rescue workers managed to bring dozens of people to safety from the roof of a hospital.
On Thursday evening (local time), "Helene" made landfall as the second-highest category hurricane with sustained wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour in the Big Bend region in the state of Florida. It then weakened to a tropical storm and continued north across the Appalachian Mountains.
The US hurricane center continued to warn of life-threatening flooding and landslides. More than four million households across the country were without power as a result of the storm on Friday, according to data from the website "poweroutage.us". Houses were destroyed and entire villages flooded.
Hurricane "Helene" threatened to break several dams
There were reports of people being killed or injured by fallen trees, while others died in their cars and homes. Numerous roads were washed out and closed in the affected regions.
In North Carolina, the authorities warned that a dam on Lake Lur could break and urged residents in the surrounding towns to take shelter.
Evacuation orders were also issued in Newport, Tennessee, a town with a population of around 7,000, because a dam was threatening to burst. In both cases, the all-clear was later given.
It is still unclear how many people lost their lives in the storm. The New York Times reported 41 deaths in four states, the US broadcaster ABC News 42 and CNN 45. So far, only eight deaths have been officially confirmed in Florida, eleven in Georgia and two in North Carolina.
In storms of this kind, the extent of the destruction often only becomes apparent days later. Victims of the storm are often not discovered until the storm has passed and the water has receded.