By Axios | Created at 2024-10-04 03:01:42 | Updated at 2024-10-04 05:27:05
2 hours ago
Hurricane Helene's death toll surpassed 200 on Thursday as rescue crews searched for survivors, one week after the major storm made landfall in Florida and brought flooding rains across the U.S. Southeast.
The big picture: The at least 215 deaths confirmed so far make the storm the third-deadliest of the 21st century, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (1392 deaths) and Hurricane Maria in 2017 (at least 2,975 deaths).
Zoom in: The "only other hurricane deadlier than Helene over the past 60 years was Camille" in 1969, per Yale Climate Connections.
- This storm shared similarities with Hurricane Helene "in that the majority of Camille's 259 U.S. deaths came from flash flooding across the Appalachians (in Virginia), following a Category 5 landfall that was itself catastrophic," the climate news service noted.
- "These numbers include both direct and indirect deaths."
- A study out this week found hurricanes were linked to thousands of deaths over the 15 years following the event.
Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
