Devastation in the USA
More than 160 dead after Hurricane Helene
Cleaning up after the storm: “Helene” caused immense damage in many places in the southeast of the USA. photo
© Jeff Roberson/AP/dpa
The tropical storm made landfall in the southeastern United States last week with incredible force. Afterwards, many people are still in need and the number of deaths is rising.
In the southeast of the People in the USA continue to struggle with the consequences of the deadly tropical storm Helene. According to the latest counts by US broadcasters CNN and CBS, at least 162 people died as a result of the storm.
The storm, which made landfall as a second-highest category hurricane in northwest Florida on Thursday evening and then moved somewhat weaker to the north, left immense devastation in six states. On Wednesday night (local time), around 1.3 million people were still without power, almost half a million of them in the state of South Carolina alone, according to data from the US website PowerOutage.
The governor of the neighboring state of Georgia, Brian Kemp, temporarily suspended the gasoline tax with an executive order on Tuesday. This is intended to relieve the burden on communities that are currently completely dependent on fuel to power their homes and necessary equipment, Kemp wrote in the short message service X.
US President Joe Biden wants to travel to North Carolina and South Carolina today to get a picture of particularly affected areas. His vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, is planning a visit to Georgia. Your Republican opponent Donald Trump was already in Georgia on Tuesday.