Helene Has Killed at Least 41 People in 4 States

Helene Has Killed at Least 41 People in 4 States

Officials in the Southeast said the toll was likely to rise.

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By Jacey Fortin and Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon

The death toll from Helene had risen to at least 41 across the Southeast by Friday afternoon. Seventeen of the deaths were in South Carolina, 15 in Georgia, seven in Florida and two in North Carolina.

Here’s a breakdown:

Florida

Seven deaths have been confirmed. Five people died, at least two by drowning, in coastal communities in Pinellas County, Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff, said in a news conference on Friday morning. He said that two of the victims were found on Treasure Island, two in Indian Rocks Beach and one in Dunedin.

One person died on a highway in Tampa because of a falling sign, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Another person was killed in Dixie County, about two hours southeast of Tallahassee, when a tree fell on a house.

Georgia

Officials have reported 15 storm-related fatalities, according to the office of Gov. Brian Kemp, who added that one of the people who died was an emergency worker.

Two people died in Laurens County and one in Colquitt County because of the storm, but it was not immediately clear what happened, or when.

Two people died in a tornado in Wheeler County, in the south-central part of the state. And in Liberty County, near Savannah, a state representative, Al Williams, said that emergency management officials had told him that a person had died after a tree fell on a camper in the Lake George community.

The locations of the other nine deaths remain unclear.

North Carolina

Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina said that there had been at least two storm-related deaths in the state: “One in Catawba County due to a motor vehicle collision on a flooded roadway, and one in Charlotte due to a tree falling on a home.” Officials had identified the car crash victim as a 4-year-old girl.

South Carolina

Two people died in Anderson County, S.C., after trees fell on their homes, according to the coroner’s office there. Both homes were in Anderson, the county seat. There were also two storm-related deaths in Newberry County, according to the sheriff’s office there, along with four deaths in Aiken County, four in Greenville and three in Spartanburg, according to the county coroners.

The dead also included two firefighters responding to calls in Saluda County, Gov. Henry McMaster said at a Friday news conference.

Hank Sanders contributed reporting.