Helene: Death toll in North Carolina 102, up to 231 in South

Hurricane Helene’s fatalities has increased by one to 102 in North Carolina, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The total killed across seven states is 231.

Wednesday’s daily report was not connected to the number unaccounted for or missing. The Emergency Management agency, in a Monday email to The Center Square, said that number was seven.

A long version of the fatality report indicates a death on Sept. 30 in Henderson County was connected to the storm. The 51-year-old man had a preexisting health condition, it deteriorated because of the storm, and he “did not return to baseline condition before passing.”

The mountain counties of the state are in their sixth week of recovery from the storm which came ashore in the Big Bend of Florida. Helene dissipated over the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, dumping more than 30 inches of rain in multiple places.

Respective state officials say 49 were killed in South Carolina, 34 in Georgia, 25 in Florida, 18 in Tennessee, two in Virginia and one in Indiana. Numbers were confirmed by The Center Square based on information supplied by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; South Carolina Department of Public Safety; Georgia Emergency Management Agency; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Tennessee Emergency Management Agency; Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin; and the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana.

Helene is the fourth most deadly hurricane from the Atlantic Basin in the last three-quarters of a century. Only Katrina (2005, deaths 1,392), Audrey (1957, deaths 416) and Camille (1969, deaths 256) killed more people.

Helene was one of the three hurricanes to land in Florida over a span of 66 days, and subsequently generated damage across the South.

Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Steinhatchee, Fla, on Aug. 5, Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26, and Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Fla., on Oct. 9.

Flooding was catastrophic, arguably the worst storm for North Carolina since Hurricanes Floyd in 1999 and Hazel in 1954 – the latter the only Category 4 hurricane to make landfall on state shores, the former causing a once in 500 years flood.

According to PowerOutage.us late Wednesday afternoon, the total without power in Yancey County is 389. At the height of the storm the last weekend of September, more than 1 million lost power.

According to DriveNC.org, the total road closures because of Helene is 294. This includes one interstate, 21 federal highways, 29 state roads and 243 secondary roads.