Supplies arrive to US populations isolated by Helene; death toll rises to 121

The widespread devastation left Hurricane Helene came to light Monday across the South, revealing a wasteland of smashed homes, crushed shipping containers and mud-covered roads in one of the worst storms in U.S. history. The death toll rose to 121.

A crisis was unfolding in western North Carolina, where residents stranded by washed out roads and a lack of power and cell service lined up Monday for clean water and a chance to send messages to loved ones to let them know that They are safe and sound.

At least 121 deaths in six southeastern states have been attributed to the storm — a number that increased Monday as a clearer picture emerged of the damage it inflicted on an area stretching from Florida’s Gulf Coast north to the Mountains. Appalachia in Virginia.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned that the death toll will rise as rescuers and other emergency workers continue to reach areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.

During a briefing Monday, White House national security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall suggested that as many as 600 people remain missing as of Monday afternoon, noting that some may have died.

Officials and aid groups They were working to bring basic supplies by air, truck and mule to the hard-hit resort center of Asheville and its surrounding mountain towns.

The destruction and despair were unimaginable. A crushed cargo container lay atop a bridge crossing a river of muddy brown water. Overturned boats, splintered wooden docks, and tree trunks littered the surface of a picturesque lake hidden among the mountains.

Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 storm in northern Florida, packing winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kilometers per hour). After weakening, the meteor crossed Georgia and later reached the Carolinas and Tennessee, where it dumped torrential rains that overflowed rivers and streams and left dams at their limits.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Kirk formed Monday in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and is expected to become a “large, powerful hurricane” late Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. USA.

The storm is located about 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands with maximum sustained winds of 70 km/h (45 mph). Authorities have not issued coastal watches or warnings and the storm system is not currently threatening to make landfall.

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