International Desk: At least 43 people have been killed in various southeastern states of the United States due to Hurricane Helen. BBC news. The storm, one of the strongest in the country’s history, hit the coast of Big Bend, Florida, around 11 p.m. local time on Thursday.
At that time, the wind speed in that area was 140 miles per hour. The storm killed 13 people in Florida, 15 in Georgia, 17 in South Carolina, and 2 in North Carolina.
Insurance and financial institutions said that Helen’s storm could cause billions of dollars in damages. Houses and roads were destroyed. More than 4.5 million customers are without power in states from Florida to Ohio. South Carolina was hit the hardest by power outages, leaving more than 1 million power customers in the dark.
Helen is bringing strong winds and heavy rain to large areas of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. Thousands of people are trapped in apartment buildings in different cities due to waterlogging.
The U.S. Weather Service designated Helen as a ‘Category 4’ hurricane due to the widespread destruction.
Helen is the 14th strongest hurricane to hit the United States. Winds gusted to 420 miles per hour. Hurricane Ida in 2017 and Hurricane Opal in 1996 previously recorded winds of 460 miles per hour.
1,000 members of the National Guard branch of the US Army have been deployed to deal with the disaster.
