Washington, Oct 6 (UNI) The death toll from Hurricane Helene, which hit southeastern regions of the United States, increased to at least 227 people in six states, CNN reported.
On Friday, the Associated Press reported that the death toll had reached 215 people.
Hurricane Helene has seriously damaged the US power grid. According to the poweroutage.us portal, about one million people were left without electricity. Most of them live in the states of North and South Carolina, with about 90% of households in North Carolina losing electricity. Local operator Duke Energy said its energy infrastructure had been “literally washed away.” Water, telecommunications and transportation systems were also damaged.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said earlier that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not have enough funds to deal with the consequences of the storm for the remainder of the hurricane season.
President Joe Biden, for his part, called on Congress this week to approve additional funding as soon as possible, but a vote on the issue is not expected until November 12. Biden also suggested that he could ask Congress again for additional funds before the end of his term in January, as costs are expected to rise significantly as damage from the storm is assessed.
