In the United States, the material and human toll continues to rise as the authorities progress through the rubble left by Hurricane Helene. In North Carolina, the most affected state, some isolated villages have almost disappeared, swept away by the waters. This is the case of the village of Marshall, a thousand inhabitants before the passage of the hurricane, west of Charlotte.
3 mins
With our special correspondent in Marshall, David Thomson
When the water from the river rushed into his village, Johnny Crash, this 57-year-old artist, took refuge on a roof. In a few hours he also saw the houses disappear one after the other. Including his own, washed away by the river. Four days later, Johnny stands on its ruins, completely haggard. His village, Marshall, was wiped off the map by Hurricane Helene : “ It’s incredible. There were like ten buildings right here. These ten buildings no longer exist! Here there was a church. Totally disappeared too. All that remains are ruins. »
Deaths by the dozen
In this tourist valley of the Appalachians (Eastern North America), it’s not just the houses that have disappeared. The deaths number in the dozens. Johnny saw residents drowning before his eyes: “ This is a gentleman who died because he refused to evacuate. The water rose so quickly that he ended up screaming for help, but the emergency services were unable to reach him to save him. »
And, meanwhile, police officers and volunteers in white jumpsuits comb the banks of the French Board River in search of deceased victims. The first days, Rocky, a 31-year-old rafting guide, was part of this unit to fish out the bodies of the drowned. A task that has become too trying for him: “ It’s terrible. These are images you can’t get out of your head “. The authorities speak of 600 missing. A figure that Rocky considers realistic.
Areas still inaccessible
Several days after the passage of Hurricane Helene, which caused at least 155 deaths, several areas remain inaccessible by road and more than 1.4 million homes and businesses were still without electricity on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. UT) , according to the specialized site poweroutage.us cited by AFP. “ We know the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is beyond imaginable », declared, Tuesday, October 1, the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, during a press conference. His state, the most affected by the hurricanedeplores at least 74 deaths. “ Localities have been wiped off the map », added the governor, specifying that the authorities expected the toll to get even worse.
President Biden is traveling to North Carolina on October 2, while Vice-President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate on November 5, is traveling to Georgia, where 25 deaths have been recorded. Their respective trips come as the response of the federal authorities to the disaster has become part of the presidential campaign. Georgia and North Carolina are among seven key states that could swing the election.
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