ALBAWABA - In the course of searching for survivors of the deadly Storm Helene, which killed at least 63 people across five states and caused severe power outages, rescuers battled on Saturday with washed-out bridges and debris-strewn roadways.
As a Category 4 storm, Helene struck Florida on Thursday and made her way north, gradually losing strength but leaving behind houses destroyed by mudslides, downed power lines, and fallen trees.
More than 800 Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) staff members were dispatched to six states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) in response to declarations of federal emergencies.
The storm is currently categorized as a "post-tropical cyclone," and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts that its remnants will continue to batter the Ohio Valley and the central Appalachians through Sunday.
Storm victims and volunteers with garbage bags, mops, and hammers attempted to clean up what remained and rebuild what they could in damaged areas around the Midwest and eastern coast.
"There’s only a couple of businesses open. They have a limited supply. So I’m just worried about families that have kids and stuff like that, getting somewhere to stay and have something to eat," said Steven Mauro, a resident of Valdosta, Georgia.
At least 24 people were killed in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, 10 in North Carolina, and one in Virginia, according to AFP's reporting from local authorities and media.
The National Weather Service said that weather will "continue to improve today following the catastrophic flooding over the past two days."
