Do at least 52 the number of fatalities after the crossing increased Hurricane Helene in five US states: Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia. The previous count was 43 dead.
Helene's fatalities included three firefighters, a mother with one-month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman whose house was hit by a tree.
Hurricane Helene is wreaking havoc. Billions of losses
On Saturday more than three million homes and businesses were still without power. According to Moody's estimates, the material damage caused by Helene will amount to USD 15-26 billion.
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The White House approved requests from the governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina to make the announcement there state of emergency. This allows you to obtain aid funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
About 1,500 federal employees specializing in disaster response have been deployed to at-risk regions. In Florida, beaches along the coast near Tampa remained closed as rescue operations continued.
Hurricane Helene hit the USA. Appalling data
Helene weakened to tropical storm status on Friday. However, the National Hurricane Center earlier said that when it hit the southern coast United States the hurricane was category four.
In North Carolina they accompanied Helene the strongest winds on land since records began in the 19th centuryblowing at a speed of over 225 km/h. However, in just two days they hit Atlanta, Georgia the highest rainfall in the history of this city. State authorities reported on Friday that more than 2,800 mm of rain fell there.
In an interview with NPR public radio, expert Brad Johnson from Davidson College noted that due to heavy rainfall, the danger may be caused by broken trees, stones, etc., carried by water over a distance of up to 1.5 km.
Authorities in Georgia advised residents to stay away from windows and shelter in safe places. On Friday, the National Hurricane Center described conditions in the region as “dangerous and life-threatening”.
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