US southeast faces daunting task cleaning up from Helene; death toll rises

28/9/2024 13:37

        Authorities across a wide swath of the southeastern United States faced the daunting task on Saturday of cleaning up from Hurricane Helene, one of the most powerful to hit the country, as the death toll continued to rise.
        
        At least 43 deaths were reported by late on Friday, and officials feared still more bodies would be discovered across several states.
        
        Helene, downgraded late on Friday to a post-tropical cyclone, continued to produce heavy rains across several states, sparking life-threatening flooding that threatened to create dam failures that could inundate entire towns.
        
        In Florida's Pinellas County near Tampa, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said he had never seen destruction like that which Helene wrought. "I would just describe it, having spent the last few hours out there, as a war zone," Gualtieri told a press conference.
        
        At least 3.5 million customers remained without power across five states, with authorities warning it could be several days before services were fully restored.