At Least 90 People Died As A Result Of The Helene Storm, The Great Floods Hit Florida To Virginia

JAKARTA - The United States began massive efforts to clean up and recover on Sunday, after Hurricane Helene cut off electricity for millions of people, destroying roads and bridges, causing heavy flooding from Florida to Virginia, as well as the death toll to rise to near 100.

Winds, rain and storm surges killed at least 90 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia, according to a Reuters tally from state and local officials.

Officials fear more bodies will be found.

With cell phone towers collapsing across the region, hundreds of people have not been able to contact their loved ones and are registered as unknown people.

The estimated damage ranged from 15 billion US dollars to more than 100 billion US dollars, the insurance company and weather forecasters said over the weekend, as water systems, communications, and transportation routes were critically affected.

Damage to property and loss of economic results will become clearer when officials assess the damage.

In North Carolina, almost all deaths occurred in Buncombe County, where 30 people died, Sheriffpare Miller said in an online press statement with reporters.

County Manager Avrilinder said he asked the state for emergency food and drinking water. The streets of Asheville's beautiful city were flooded.

"This is a historic catastrophic disaster," Governor Roy Cooper told CNN.

"The people I spoke to in western North Carolina said they had never seen anything like this," he continued.

Search and rescue teams from 19 states and the US government have gathered in the state, Cooper said, adding some roads may take months to repair.

At Flat Rock, North Carolina, there was a widespread power outage, and people queued for hours to get gasoline.

About 2.7 million customers across the South did not get electricity supplies on Sunday, a US Department of Energy official said, down 40 percent from Friday after an unprecedented storm, strong winds and dangerous conditions spread hundreds of miles into the interior.

South Carolina reported 25 people dead, Georgia 17 dead, and Florida 11 dead, according to the state's governor.

CNN reported a total of 93 people were killed across the Southern region, citing state and local officials.

Separately, President Joe Biden plans to visit the affected areas this week, after he can do so without disrupting emergency services, the White House said.

"It's tragic," Biden told reporters on Sunday, promising recovery assistance after announcing major disasters in Florida and North Carolina, as well as a state of emergency for Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Alabama. "You saw the photos. It was shocking," he continued.

Meanwhile, Republican Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to receive briefing on storm damage and "facilitating aid distribution," his campaign team said.

Earlier, Hurricane Helene hit Florida's Gulf Coast on Thursday night, triggering heavy rains for days and destroying houses that had been standing for decades.