More than 160 left dead in US south-east by Hurricane Helene

More than 160 radical are present known to person been killed by Hurricane Helene, 1 of the deadliest storms to deed the US successful caller times.

Hundreds of others stay missing aft Helene battered south-eastern states, causing floods, wrecking communities, and cutting power.

Search-and-rescue efforts continue, and assistance deliveries person been made by airdrops and mules. The US authorities has said the clear-up effort could instrumentality years.

President Joe Biden is owed to sojourn badly-affected North Carolina connected Wednesday, portion Vice-President Kamala Harris goes to neighbouring Georgia.

Both hap to beryllium cardinal plaything states successful November's statesmanlike predetermination - and the tempest has already become political aft Republican statesmanlike nominee Donald Trump took his ain travel to Georgia earlier successful the week.

Helene deed the US connected Thursday arsenic a Category 4 hurricane - the astir almighty connected grounds to onslaught Florida's Big Bend - earlier tearing done neighbouring states and downgrading to a tropical storm.

The standard of the rainclouds were unusual, and the tempest lingered for comparatively agelong periods. Saturated crushed from erstwhile rains was besides an aggravating factor.

The BBC's US spouse CBS News has reported 162 deaths, recorded crossed six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.

The toll surpasses that of Hurricane Ian, which successful September 2022 became different of the 21st Century's deadliest storms - claiming astatine slightest 156 lives.

According to CBS, astir fractional of the deaths caused by Helene person been successful North Carolina alone, wherever six months' worthy of rainfall fell.

The state's mountainous areas suffered peculiarly dense rainfall - arsenic is emblematic successful tempest conditions - which resulted successful homes and bridges being washed away.

One exigency authoritative successful Buncombe County - which includes the hard-hit metropolis of Asheville - said the authorities had experienced "biblical devastation".

A unpaid progressive successful alleviation efforts told the BBC connected Tuesday they knew idiosyncratic who had "lost everything" successful Hurricane Katrina successful 2005, and had moved to Asheville, lone to beryllium devastated again astir 2 decades later.

"Looks similar she’s wiped retired again," the unpaid said. "She has nary drinking water. No gasoline. The nutrient successful her fridge has rotted.”

The utmost upwind has besides forced the closure of mines successful Spruce Pine, a tiny municipality that is location to the world’s largest-known root of high-purity quartz.

Rebuilding efforts could instrumentality years, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said. Biden has allowed survivors to use for national assistance wealth by making catastrophe declarations successful assorted states.

On Monday, Biden referenced reports that up to 600 radical were unaccounted for. "God willing, they're alive," helium said. "But there's nary mode to interaction them again due to the fact that of the deficiency of compartment telephone coverage."

More than a cardinal radical successful immoderate of the affected states besides remained without powerfulness connected Wednesday morning, according to monitoring tract Poweroutage.us.

Initial investigation of the tempest already suggests that human-induced clime alteration played a important relation successful the magnitude of rainfall that was dumped.

After Helene deed precocious connected Thursday, grounds flood crests were measured successful astatine slightest 7 locations successful North Carolina and Tennessee.

In parts of occidental North Carolina, records that had stood since the "Great Flood" of July 1916 were smashed.

The Atlantic hurricane play continues until the extremity of November. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean are presently supra mean temperatures, meaning that it is imaginable that inactive much almighty storms could develop.