South Carolina recorded the highest death toll, with local authorities counting 24 fatalities so far from Helene, with falling trees contributing to many of them.
Seventeen people, including children, died in Georgia due to Helene, Governor Brian Kemp said after viewing damage in Valdosta.
A total of 11 people died in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday, speaking in Perry on Florida’s Gulf Coast, which saw 15-foot storm surges, larger than those seen in hurricanes in recent years.
In coastal Steinhatchee, a storm surge – a wall of seawater pushed ashore by winds – of eight to 10 feet (2.4-3 meters) moved mobile homes, the weather service said.
The nearby tiny community of Spring Warrior Fish Camp was surveying the damage Saturday and still waiting for any emergency or first responder aid.
“No on thinks of us back here,” said David Hall, as he and his wife dug through the seagrass and dead fish in the office of the hotel they owned. Many of the homes in there are built on stilts because of a local ordinance and survived heavy damage.
