Helene Death Toll Rises

The death toll from Hurricane Helene has surpassed 200 people across six states as crews continue searching for survivors in remote areas one week after Helene struck the US. Roughly 900,000 people remain without power (see map), and tens of thousands without running water, as of this writing.

Hurricane Helene is the deadliest storm to make landfall on the US mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (see list). At least 72 victims died in Buncombe County, North Carolina, which includes Asheville and was hardest hit within Helene’s roughly 600-mile-long path of destruction. Helene and other storm systems in the past week dumped more than 30 inches of rain on North Carolina, triggering the biggest flooding in the state’s recorded history. See photos here. 

Meanwhile, Hurricane Kirk strengthened into a Category 4 storm in the Atlantic. The storm will remain in open waters but is expected to create life-threatening surf and rip currents along the US East Coast this weekend. On the other side of the world, at least two people were killed, 200 injured, and more than 10,000 evacuated after Typhoon Krathon struck southern Taiwan.