Helene leaves more than 40 dead in four states after its passage

The death toll after Helene had risen to more than 40 across the southeastern United States. Seventeen of the deaths occurred in South Carolina, 15 in Georgia, seven in Florida and two in North Carolina.

More than seven deaths have been confirmed in Florida. Five people lost their lives, at least two due to drowning, in coastal communities in Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a press conference. He explained that the two victims were found on Treasure Island, two in Indian Rocks Beach and one in Dinedin.

Another citizen died on a highway in Tampa due to a falling sign, according to the governor of the Sunshine State, Ron DeSantis.

Likewise, another person died in Dixie County, about two hours southeast of Tallahassee, when a tree fell on a house.

For their part, Georgia authorities reported 15 deaths linked to the storm, according to Governor Brian Kemp’s office, who added that one of the people who lost their lives was a rescue worker.

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

Two other people were also killed by the 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 first responders had informed him that one person had died after a tree fell on a camper in the community of Lake George.

The location of the other nine dead people remains unclear, The New York Times reported.

For his part, Roy Cooper, governor of North Carolina, noted that there were at least two linked deaths in the state: “One in Catawba County due to a motor vehicle collision on a flooded road, and another in Charlotte due to “to the fall of a tree on a house.”

Emergency officials had identified the victim of the traffic accident as a 4-year-old girl.

In South Carolina, two people died in Anderson County after trees fell on their homes, the coroner’s office said.

There were also two deaths linked to the storm in Newberry County, the county sheriff’s office said, along with four deaths in Aiken County, four in Greenville and three in Spartanburg, county coroners said.

Also among the dead were two firefighters responding to calls in Saluda County, Governor Henry McMaster explained at a press conference on Friday.

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