Hurricane Helene death toll climbs over 230 individuals across states devastated by winds, flooding

There are still 75,000 people without power in North Carolina as the death toll from Hurricane Helene continues to rise, now to at least 232 people. The cleanup is noway near completed, and for some of the worst affected areas like the Appalachian village of Bat Cave, the recovery hasn’t even started yet, the New York Post reported Saturday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is so concerned about delivering equity to Americans, hasn’t been seen in places like Bat Cave, where the devastation is as deep as the sorrow felt by those who have lost family members. Residents of the village say National Guard helicopters arrived to remove the old and injured to hospital but only six Louisiana State Police officers remain who are “keeping an eye on everything.”

The Category 4 storm is already the deadliest hurricane to hit the US since the onslaught of Katrina in 2005 which killed about 1,850 people. Former National Security Advisor Lieut.-Gen. (ret'd) Michael Flynn predicted Saturday that the final number could reach 2,000 or “north of that," based on conversations he has had with sources within the US military. Hundreds are still missing.

Bat Cave residents are worried that the federal government might just decide to write off the village, order the occupants to cease repairs, and simply evacuate. Chelsea Atkins, 38, a health researcher who came to North Carolina from Buffalo, NY, didn’t think she was going to live to see another day when Helene struck. “A tree came through our sliding glass doors and all the water came in,” she told The Post. “It took out our fireplace, our china cabinet, all of our furniture, everything.”

She and her husband, Andy Wells, 40, sought shelter in the foyer of a small white brick post office with their neighbor Kendall and her fiancée Curtis McCart, 58, the morning that remnants of Helene hit.

Atkins and her husband fled for cover in a brick post office where the surging waters opened the front door. “It was wild,” Atkins told The Post. “I can really handle a lot, but I looked at my neighbor and asked ‘Are we going to die?’” FEMA called to inspect their home but they haven’t arrived yet because the road into the village is still closed.

“FEMA hasn’t been here,” Atkins told the Post. “Nobody’s bringing in supplies except civilians. … It’s been a civilian run operation since day one. I haven’t seen anyone with a FEMA uniform … At this point I don’t care if FEMA comes by,” he said. “I don’t want somebody to pull me out of here, saying I’m working in an unsafe spot.”

Although the Biden-Harris administration says it is “sparing no resource” to help people in the hurricane-ravaged sector to “purchase essential items and begin their road to recovery and rebuilding,” it seems like an empty promise to many who live here and wonder if their lives will ever be the same again.