Rescue and recovery efforts continue in Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction in Southeast

According to Fox Weather , Hurricane Helene has caused 170 deaths in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. The historic storm left a field of destruction in its wake, broke precipitation records across the Southeast and has left many stranded in need of rescue. It touched ground in Florida last Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane and downgraded into a tropical storm as it headed north.

Helene wrought severe damage in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida and left people across the southeast stranded in its wake.

Rescue and recovery efforts in the Southeast

Among the circumstances making rescue efforts difficult are damaged roads, downed phone lines and power outages. Inaccessible roads are also hampering efforts to bring food and water to those stranded by the storm and cut off from resources.

Various organizations have contributed to recovery efforts across the Southeast, including the Red Cross, Feeding Florida, Direct Relief, International Medical Corps and Mercy Chefs, per the Obama Foundation. Another notable donor, World Central Kitchen, has provided over 64,000 meals in just North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and Georgia, NBC News reports.

North Carolina

In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper described the search and rescue efforts as a “massive effort of coordination and logistics” as “local, state, federal, private and nonprofit partners continue to work in concert to provide food, water, shelter and other basic necessities for people in need,” per a release . As of Tuesday, trailers of food and water have been delivered to 34 counties, 25 shelters have been opened and house over 1,000 people in western North Carolina and 400 roads remain closed.

Fifty-seven search and rescue teams from across the country and 18 federal teams have been dispatched. Cooper “activated more than 700 North Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen to both conduct search and rescue operations and deliver critical supplies to western North Carolina” with over 300 vehicles and aircraft.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has dispatched over 1,500 employees with access to “1,500+ trucks, graders and backhoes/loaders”, “1,000+ chainsaws” and “8,000+ barricades and signs.”

Nearly 1,000 people and 110 animals have been rescued by search and rescue teams and nearly 4,700 people have been evacuated.

Florida

As of Tuesday night, “over 890,000 shelf-stable meals, over 1.2 million liters of water, over 32,500 10-pound bags of ice and over 42,000 tarps” have been distributed at point of distribution sites to people in need, per a release from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. The Florida State Emergency Response Team is involved in almost 3,500 response and recovery missions in affected areas.

The Urban Search and Rescue has rescued 54 people and the Florida National Guard has rescued 165 people and 63 animals.

Around 3,000 Florida National Guard members are assisting in response operations.

South Carolina

On Tuesday night, South Carolina had the most power outages of all the areas affected by the storm, with over 666,000 customers without power, per USA Today .

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced that 36 people have died in South Carolina due to the storm, per WYFF . He described the federal response to the storm in his state as “superb” and he said the state has been working with Federal Emergency Management Agency to help residents impacted by the damage.

Georgia

Twenty-five people have died in Georgia as a result of Hurricane Helene, Gov. Brian Kemp confirmed, per Fox 5 .

In restoring power to customers in affected areas, Georgia Power officials said they needed to repair or replace upward of 7,000 power poles, string 700 miles of new wire and remove over 3,000 trees from power lines.

Kemp is working with federal agencies to get Georgians the help they require in recovering from the disaster.

Tennessee

According to Fox Weather , over 100 people in Eastern Tennessee, where Helene hit the state, needed to be rescued. At least nine deaths have been recorded in the state and many others are missing. In Erwin, the Nolichucky River rose to record heights, causing fears of a dam break and leaving people stranded on rooftops.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers spoke on a mandatory water conservation order in the region, saying “In this critical time of limited resources, clean water is essential for recovery, and we call upon all citizens in these affected areas to conserve as much water as is possible.”

Gov. Bill Lee said recovery resources are available to those who need it. Red cross has opened shelters in areas impacted by the storm, his office announced, per Fox 13 .

The Tennessee Department of Transportation is also working to restore roads damaged by the storm.