Helene's death toll rises to more than 100 as supplies rushed to isolated communities

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00:00The death toll from Hurricane Ellen has reached at least 107 across six U.S. states.

00:06Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said during a news conference the death toll in his state

00:11had risen from 17 to 25.

00:13It pushes the overall toll to more than 100 people.

00:17More than half of those fatalities have been reported in the Carolinas.

00:20The North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people

00:25killed there.

00:29A massive recovery effort underway across several states in the U.S. southeast.

00:36Hurricane Helen knocked out power to millions of homes and businesses after dumping record

00:41amounts of rainfall.

00:43Officials in the state of North Carolina are calling on residents to refrain from venturing

00:47into areas affected by the storm.

00:51I want to remind all North Carolinians that conditions on the ground remain extremely

00:57dangerous.

00:58Ask people not to venture into storm affected areas, whether to check on property, loved

01:04ones or just to sightsee.

01:06Besides endangering yourself, you could also be interfering with emergency responders or

01:11repair crews.

01:12Hurricane Helen made its way across several states from Friday and throughout the course

01:17of the weekend.

01:18U.S. President Joe Biden says he plans on visiting the worst impacted areas this week,

01:24but only once rescue operations are completed.

01:27Biden reiterated that federal resources had already been mobilized.

01:32I've directed my team to provide every available resource as fast as possible to your communities

01:38to rescue, recover and to begin rebuilding.

01:41The Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense are going to provide all the resources

01:45at its disposal to rescue and assist in clearing debris and delivering life-saving supplies.

01:52So far, that's over 3,600 personnel deployed.

01:58Officials have warned that the process to rebuild in the aftermath of Helen will be

02:04difficult and lengthy.

02:07With widespread property and infrastructure destroyed, as well as downed power and communications

02:12lines, damage estimates range from between $15 billion to $100 billion.

02:18The image is really telling the story there.

02:22Delana D'Souza with that, and Joe Biden, obviously, speaking of the task facing everybody

02:27in the wake of this storm.

02:29Let's bring in for more comment and analysis, Hena Ondal, who is a climate health advocate

02:35and three-time delegate to the UN Climate Conference.

02:37Hena, thank you very much for joining us here in France 24.

02:39We appreciate your time.

02:41One can only imagine the devastating effect that such a storm would have on a country

02:47less rich, less well-repaired than the United States.

02:50But nonetheless, it has made a significant dent into many places in the U.S.

02:55How does this happen?

02:56You know, it is truly devastating.

03:00I mean, there's been more than 104 confirmed fatalities, 2 million customers without power

03:06across Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina.

03:11You know, I've been talking with some colleagues who are on the ground covering the event,

03:14and they themselves are getting emotional watching the devastation unfold.

03:18You know, this hurricane made landfall last week in the Big Bend region of Florida.

03:24And although that Big Bend region has had three hurricanes in the span of 13 months,

03:28this is actually the most intense one to hit the area since record keeping going back to

03:331851.

03:34So people are really struggling right now.

03:36As you're speaking to us, Hena, we're showing images of the effect of the flooding, and

03:41it is extensive.

03:43And as we were saying, the Carolinas in particular, very badly hit.

03:47Is this a case of the U.S. not being prepared, or is it about the size of the storm?

03:53You know, I think it's probably a mix of both.

03:55We've seen, unfortunately, with tragedy after tragedy like this, it takes a while to sort

04:00of gather local responses, although people are really out there trying to help.

04:04You know, unfortunately, there can be so much chaos in the mix.

04:07I think we would be remiss not to mention that next year will be the 20th anniversary

04:11of Hurricane Katrina, which was one of the largest, deadliest disasters to hit the United

04:16States.

04:17So sometimes we kind of have to look back and wonder how much has really changed, how

04:20much progress have we really made in terms of marshalling resources during these types

04:24of disasters?

04:25Indeed, when Katrina happened, Hena, I was working in a very cozy studio watching things

04:30unfold, and it was incredibly frightening to see that, even though I was in this side

04:34of the world watching that unfold.

04:36The U.S. then, not prepared for the extent of what happened.

04:40And I'm wondering whether, and then thinking about climate change and the effects of change

04:45that are making these things more frequent, is this the shape of things to come?

04:51Do we need to adjust to that?

04:52Can we adjust to that?

04:54Well, certainly need to adjust to the effects of climate change, because what the climate

04:58models are showing is that climate change is actually fueling more intense hurricanes

05:03and tropical cyclones.

05:04So they're showing that a greater proportion of these tropical cyclones and storms are

05:08actually category four and five, which are, of course, the most destructive, the most

05:12damaging to lives, infrastructure and local economies.

05:16And we're also seeing higher wind speeds and greater rainfall rates because of climate

05:20change.

05:21In fact, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency actually came

05:25out and said that climate change was probably fueling the rapid intensification of this

05:30particular storm.

05:31So it's a really devastating picture.

05:33And unless we actually get a grip on phasing out fossil fuels, more intense events like

05:37this will certainly be in the future.

05:39Indeed, Hena, you say we.

05:41Clearly, there's only so much that individuals can do, isn't there?

05:44It's about governments.

05:45It's about countries making a concerted effort to change.

05:50We need to tamp down on fossil fuel usage.

05:52And of course, that's going to come from the top down.

05:55So you're absolutely right about that.

05:57You know, individuals, unfortunately, bear a lot of the brunt of these impacts.

06:00I mean, the folks I've been talking with on the ground are just completely devastated,

06:04especially that Big Bend region that I mentioned where this hurricane made landfall.

06:08They've had three hurricanes in the span of 13 months.

06:11And I think unfortunately, people are now having to have some serious, painful, frank

06:15conversations about the viability of living in some of these communities where they might

06:19have lived for generations.

06:21But climate change is really making it not a pretty picture.

06:25It's a horrible feeling that people might have to, as you say, move away from places

06:29where perhaps they've lived for generations.

06:32And clearly, one thinks of certain places in the Pacific which might be washed away

06:36as as water is rising.

06:39But coming back to the story tonight, what's happening in the U.S.

06:43in the wake of Hurricane Ellen,

06:47is there a lack of national, international planning for these kind of things?

06:50You think I know obviously FEMA exists, the federal emergency

06:55management structure in the U.S. that exists at some point.

06:57But that needs to be kicked into effect, doesn't it?

06:59As it did with Hurricane Katrina.

07:01There was a delay there, which many people criticized.

07:04Is there not adequate national planning?

07:06Is that a big issue, do you think?

07:09You know, I think it's definitely part of the picture.

07:11I also think, unfortunately, this issue has become very politicized

07:15and we look at it through a partisan lens and we really can't even have honest

07:19conversations sometimes about climate change, about preparedness for these types

07:23of events and really the gravity that they carry.

07:26You know, in the short term, we talk about things like fatalities and physical injuries.

07:30But really thinking about long term, there are so many impacts when we look at

07:35water contamination, vector borne diseases, disruptions to food supply chains,

07:39even the mental health impacts, post-traumatic stress disorder

07:43for residents recovering from these disasters.

07:46Those go on for a very long time.

07:48I mean, just now we're beginning to really uncover how much damage Hurricane

07:52Katrina really did to the psyche of of that community when it hit

07:5520 years ago or almost 20 years ago.

07:58So, you know, I think these conversations will need to continue to happen

08:01for a very long time.

08:03And you've just outlined rather the issues facing all the people

08:07in the wake of Hurricane Hélène.

08:09And thank you very much for giving us your insight into the situation.

08:14Hélène Ondal, a climate health advocate, as you heard,

08:17and three time delegate to the UN Climate Conference.

08:19Thank you very much for joining us here on France 24.

08:21We appreciate your time. Thank you.

08:23Thank you very much.

08:24We will look for all.

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