Latest news More than 90 dead after storm "Helene" in the USA

According to media reports, the death toll from storm Helene has risen to more than 90 in the south-east of the USA. At the beginning of the week, millions of people were still suffering from the severe consequences of the strongest storm in this region to date.

As CNN reported on Sunday evening (local time), citing local authorities, more than 90 people were killed in a total of five states. North Carolina was particularly hard hit.

Strong winds brought down trees, power lines and mobile phone masts throughout the region. Relief supplies had to be airlifted to cut-off villages. According to the newspaper "USA Today", more than two million people were still cut off from the power supply on Sunday evening. The death toll could rise even further, it said.

"Helene" made landfall on Thursday evening (local time) as the second-highest category hurricane with wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour on the Gulf Coast in the northwest of the state of Florida. The media spoke of the strongest hurricane ever to reach the Big Bend region. Big Bend refers to the stretch of coast where the North American continent merges with the Florida peninsula.

Later, "Helene" weakened to a tropical storm and moved further north over the Appalachians before dissipating completely. US President Joe Biden had already promised help to those affected at the weekend.

Hurricane season continues until the end of November

Tropical cyclones form over warm ocean waters. According to experts, increasing global warming is increasing the likelihood of strong storms. The hurricane season begins in the Atlantic on June 1 and lasts until November 30.

The storms are named in alphabetical order. In the northern part of the Atlantic, tropical storm "Isaac" moved along its path on Monday, while further south, the low-pressure system "Joyce" slowly moved towards the American continent.

SDA