Hurricane Helene’s death toll passes 150 as crews search for survivors

October 1, 2024

Associated Press,

By ERIK VERDUZCO and JEFF AMY

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Cadaver dogs and search crews trudged through knee-deep muck and debris in the mountains of western North Carolina on Tuesday looking for victims of Hurricane Helene, days after the storm carved a deadly and destructive path through the Southeast.

With Helene’s death toll nearing 160, searchers fanned out, using helicopters to get past washed-out bridges and hiking through wilderness to reach isolated homes.

The storm, which was one of the deadliest in U.S. history, knocked out power and cellular service in some towns and cities, leaving many people frustrated, hot and increasingly worried days into the ordeal. Some cooked food on charcoal grills or hiked to high ground in the hopes of finding a signal to call loved ones.

“Communities were wiped off the map,” North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, said at a news conference Tuesday.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports Hurricane Helene’s death toll tops 130 as food, water, power and cell service remain a major issue for many.

The devastation was especially bad in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where at least 57 people died in and around Asheville, a tourism haven known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities.

In Swannanoa, a small community outside Asheville, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked on top of others and trailer homes that had floated away during the storm. Roads were caked with mud and debris and pockmarked by sinkholes.