By The New York Times (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-29 22:42:12 | Updated at 2024-09-30 03:29:40
4 hours ago
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Days after the Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Florida’s gulf coast, some victims’ portraits were coming into focus.
Sept. 29, 2024, 6:36 p.m. ET
A woman in her 70s who repaired nuclear cooling towers and rode motorcycles. A Florida resident who helped her community recover from Hurricane Ian two years ago. A man who had just moved to South Carolina to work as an electrical lineman.
All three were among the more than 90 people killed by Helene, a roaring Category 4 hurricane that has devastated much of the Southeast since coming ashore last week.
The victims came from at least five states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Many people drowned, and others were killed by falling trees, car crashes under heavy rains and a tornado produced by the storm. A lot of the victims were still unidentified.
The toll is almost certain to rise as rescuers reach communities in the Appalachian Mountains, where devastating flooding and mudslides have decimated whole towns.
But on Sunday, three days after the giant storm made landfall in the Big Bend region, some victims’ stories were coming into focus.
In Florida, most of the 11 victims there drowned in Pinellas County, which is in the Tampa Bay region and the most densely populated county in the state.
