Hurricane "Helene" leaves a trail of devastation: more than 160 dead

USA - In the south-east of the USA, people are still struggling with the consequences of the deadly tropical storm "Helene". According to the latest counts by US broadcasters CNN and CBS , at least 162 people have died as a result of the storm.

A Japanese restaurant destroyed by Hurricane Helene in Asheville.
A Japanese restaurant destroyed by Hurricane Helene in Asheville.  © ./kyodo/dpa

The storm, which made landfall in northwest Florida on Thursday evening as the second-highest category hurricane and then moved slightly weaker to the north, left immense devastation in six states.

On Wednesday night, around 1.3 million people were still without power, almost half a million of them in the state of South Carolina alone, according to data from the US website Power Outage.

The governor of the neighboring state of Georgia, Brian Kemp, temporarily suspended the gasoline tax by executive order on Tuesday.

Kemp wrote on the short message service X that this is intended to relieve the burden on communities that are currently completely dependent on fuel to supply their homes and necessary equipment with electricity.

Brian McCormack takes a break after clearing debris with a wheelbarrow.
ContentImage.Description   © Jeff Roberson/AP/dpa
People ride in the back of a pickup truck on a muddy road through the town of Marshall.
ContentImage.Description   © Jeff Roberson/AP/dpa
Resident Anne Schneider hugs her boyfriend Eddy Sampson as they survey the damage left behind by the tropical storm.
ContentImage.Description   © Jeff Roberson/AP/dpa

Joe Biden wants to visit affected US states

US President Joe Biden (81) plans to travel to North Carolina and South Carolina today to get an idea of the situation in particularly affected areas. His Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris (59), is planning a visit to Georgia.

Her Republican opponent Donald Trump (78) was already in Georgia on Monday.