At least 30 people have died in just one North Carolina county after a weekend of historic flooding from Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern states.
Helene made landfall on Thursday night as a Category 4 storm, striking Florida’s Big Bend region and moving north through the American south. The death toll across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia rose to 91 by Sunday evening, the Associated Press reported.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he expected the death toll in the Tar Heel State to continue rising in the foreseeable future. “Tragically, we know there will be more,” Cooper said at a press conference earlier on Sunday.
Heavy rains inundated Buncombe County in the Appalachian Mountains with floodwaters over the weekend.
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The majority of North Carolina’s deaths have been reported in and around the state’s western city of Asheville. Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller confirmed at least 30 people in the county died as a result of the storm, and Buncombe County Manager Avril Pender told reporters on Sunday that the county is still conducting search and rescue operations for missing persons.