Hurricane Helene began its destruction after it hit the gulf coast of Florida on September 26. Based on reports, more than 200 people have been reported dead, with an astronomically large number of people missing.
Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Atlanta, and Tennessee have all experienced damage from this rising hurricane as it traveled inland.
“Overall, Helene has killed at least 231 people across six states, one of the deadliest hurricanes to strike the US mainland in the last 50 years,” said Ray Sanchez from CNN News. It was confirmed to be the deadliest mainland hurricane since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck.
This Category 4 hurricane has left families torn apart, houses destroyed, and hearts lost. Its winds went as high as 140 miles per hour, and it is the strongest storm Florida’s Big Bend region has ever experienced.
While many Florida residents were warned to evacuate, the hurricane still caused major damage. Trees fell and knocked down houses, sometimes even smashing families inside.
Additionally, power outages spread all throughout the Southeast, leaving more people overwhelmed by the destruction. “More than 174,000 customers are in the dark in South Carolina and 179,000 are without power in North Carolina. Another 151,000 are without power in Georgia,” said writers from ABC News.
Reconstruction for these damages have already begun. Emergency shelters were set up for people who have lost their homes, and currently everyone is focused on finding and rescuing the missing people.
As the storm ruined millions of houses, buildings, businesses, and more, quickly rebuilding everything would cost too much money. They are trying to come up with a long-term solution to get the Southeast states back to how they were before the destruction.
Hospital officials said, “Around 400 nurses and 40 doctors from states around the country have arrived at Mission Health, a hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, to provide support in the aftermath of Helene.”
The current president, Joe Biden, and his wife have spoken out about this devastating event, reassuring the residents of the Southeast that “we grieve with you” and “the nation has your back”.
He also sent 500 troops and 1000 active duty-service members to the area to help with recovering and consoling the residents.
Throughout all this chaos, misinformation has also started to spread about recovery efforts. A recent memo read, “A number of scam artists, bad-faith actors, and others who want to sow chaos because they think it helps their political interests are promoting disinformation about the recovery effort, including ways to access critical and life-saving resources. This is wrong, dangerous, and it must stop immediately.”
The White House is currently coming up with plans to stop the harmful spread of information.
Hurricane Helene will most definitely be remembered for its horrific destruction and deaths it has caused. The need for being prepared for hurricanes has increased greatly as a result, especially in the East Coast states. As the community in the Southeast continues to recover, the world is reminded of the sad reality of nature, and hopefully is now better prepared for any natural disasters in the future.