Following the ongoing devastation of the Southeast United States by floods, hundreds of reports of missing persons have been filed.
Following Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida late on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane and ripped a path of devastation through the Southeast US, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Coast, the death toll as of Sunday night stands at ninety-three.
In the days ahead, that figure might increase as hundreds of complaints of missing persons have been made in areas inundated by Hurricane Helene’s enormous floods.
According to county officials, 600 complaints of missing persons were made in Buncombe County alone in the state of North Carolina, and efforts to save residents who are stuck in their houses are being hampered by flooded roads.
Breakdowns in communications and inability to call loved ones “doesn’t necessarily mean the worst has happened,” according to former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate in a CNN interview.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is urging people to hold onto optimism despite the fact that rescue teams are attempting to reconnect families nonstop. Officials have activated disaster roaming for all communications networks, with FEMA’s top priority being to try to get cell phone coverage back in the area.
“Although we know we have lost lives, we generally see more people that are missing or unaccounted for because of communication,” Fugate said.
According to CNN, the 93 confirmed deaths thus far are spread over the six states where Hurricane Helene made landfall: Florida (11), Georgia (17), South Carolina (25), North Carolina (36), Virginia (2), and Tennessee (2).
As personnel diligently attempt to restore energy from downed power lines caused by Helene’s high winds, which varied from 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) to 140 mph (225 kph), about 2.2 million inhabitants in the region are without power.
Authorities have stated that it may take many weeks to restore the electricity grid in some locations due to the significant number of power outages.
According to the US Department of Transportation, flooding has closed highways in a number of states, including 300 roads in North Carolina that are under water and 150 streets that are closed in South Carolina.
In addition to impeding rescue attempts, these barriers have made it more difficult to provide inhabitants who are stuck in their areas with potable water and medical supplies.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told Spectrum News, “Getting people out…and getting supplies in” is the top concern. “Everything is flooded.”
This week, President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the disaster zones. He has already granted money to the states that have asked for emergency declarations in order to conduct cleanup and recovery efforts.
