Hurricane Helene: 107 Dead, $160B In Damage Estimated, FEMA Funding

 FLORIDA — Nearly 2 million people in Florida and other states are still without power on Monday morning as recovery efforts continue in the hardest hit areas after Hurricane Helene tore across the U.S. Southeast last week.

The powerful storm, which made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph in Florida’s Big Bend area, brought devastating storm surge and flash flooding to many communities, damaging winds that took out power lines, and leveled homes and businesses.

Its destructive path stretched from Florida’s west coast up into the Blue Ridge Mountains and the southern Appalchians.

South Carolina has about 752,000 people without power Monday, according to PowerOutage.us. North Carolina has about 457,000 outages, and there are about 574,000 and 119,000 in Georgia and Florida, respectively.

Nearly 5 million people were without power Friday morning, not long after the storm made landfall.

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Helene caused the deaths of at least 107 people across six states, the Associated Press said. North Carolina has seen the highest death toll so far, with at least 42 killed. Another 25 were killed in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 11 in Florida — including several who drowned — four in Tennessee and two in Virginia, while hundreds remain missing.

More than half of those fatalities have been reported in the Carolinas. A North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed there.

The estimated total damage and economic loss from Helene is estimated to be $145 to $160 billion, according to AccuWeather. This makes it one of the costliest storms in U.S. history.

It comes behind Katrina, which caused about $320 billion in damages in 2005, adjusted for inflation, as well as Sandy in 2012 ($210 billion), Ian in 2022 ($180 to $210 billion) and Harvey ($190 billion).

Other storms this year caused far less damage, including $28 to $32 billion during Beryl and $28 billion during Debby, AccuWeather said.

These estimates are based on damage to homes, businesses, medical facilities, roads and vehicles, as well as power outages, which resulted in food spoilage and interruption to medical care.

In Florida's Big Bend, some lost nearly everything they own. Some churches canceled regular services Sunday while others like Faith Baptist Church in Perry opted to worship outside.

Standing water and tree debris still covers the grounds of Faith Baptist Church. The church called on parishioners to come “pray for our community” in a message posted to the congregation’s Facebook page.

“We have power. We don’t have electricity,” Immaculate Conception Catholic Church parishioner Marie Ruttinger said. “Our God has power. That’s for sure.”

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to visit areas ravaged by Hurricane Helene this week as long as it doesn’t disrupt rescue and recovery efforts.

In a brief exchange with reporters, Biden described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said that his administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.

In Florida, funding assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency is available to individuals and businesses in 17 counties, according to a city of Tampa news release.

These counties include Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor and Wakulla.

Those who suffered losses in these areas can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, calling 1-800-621- 3362 or using the FEMA App.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

As recovery to buildings damaged during Helene begins, officials warn residents to be on the lookout for scams.

"Following a momentous storm like Hurricane Helene, qualified contractors are in high demand, so I want residents to be on the lookout for scammers who prey on Floridians in need of expert service," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.

Those looking to have work done on their homes can check to see if an individual is a licensed contractor through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) or myfloridalicense.com.