Hurricane Helene updates: Death toll surpasses 230 as rescue efforts continue

Helene unleashed devastation across the Southeast.

ByEmily Shapiro, David Brennan, Leah Sarnoff, Julia Reinstein, Meredith Deliso, and Ivan Pereira
Video byLilia Geho
Last Updated: October 7, 2024, 7:41 AM EDT

More than 230 people have been killed from Hurricane Helene, which unleashed devastation across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

Helene, which made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a massive Category 4 hurricane, has become the deadliest mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Oct 03, 2024, 3:19 PM EDT

Biden surveys damage in Florida with GOP Sen. Rick Scott

President Joe Biden continued to survey damage caused by Hurricane Helene on Thursday, taking part in an aerial tour over impacted communities in Florida and meeting with families whose homes were destroyed.

A view of damaged homes affected by Hurricane Helene near Keaton Beach, Florida, Oct. 3, 2024.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden speaks with a first responder, as he visits storm-damaged areas in the wake of Hurricane Helene, in Keaton Beach, Florida, October 3, 2024.
Tom Brenner/Reuters

It was a bipartisan show of support, as vocal Biden critic Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., joined the president in Keaton Beach to see the devastation on the ground and provide an update on response efforts.

President Joe Biden greets Sen. Rick Scott, and other officials, in Keaton Beach, Fla., Oct. 3, 2024, during his tour of areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Susan Walsh/AP

After his briefing, Biden met with a husband and wife who lost their home in the storm, and they thanked the president for visiting. The president then met with local officials and first responders.

Biden made no remarks to the press pool.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Oct 03, 2024, 11:33 AM EDT

Georgia death toll climbs to 33

In Georgia, the death toll from Hurricane Helene has climbed to 33, Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday.

Three of the fatalities were due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators in the Savannah area, he said.

Two-thousand Georgia National Guard soldiers have been deployed across the state to help devastated residents recover from the historic storm, the governor said.

PHOTO: AUGUSTA, GA - OCTOBER 2: Traffic passes by a broken street lig
AUGUSTA, GA - OCTOBER 2: Traffic passes by a broken street light in Augusta, Ga., on Wednesday, October 2, 2024. (Photo by Sam Wolfe for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post via Getty Im

Over 200,000 Georgia customers remain without power. Eight-thousand utility poles need to be replaced, Kemp said.

All of the cleanup costs for the next three months will be paid by Georgia Emergency Management, he said.

-ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh

Oct 02, 2024, 10:51 PM EDT

Tennessee OSHA investigating reports people swept away during Helene

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation following reports that flash flooding from Helene swept away employees from Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee, which is located in Unicoi County.

TOSHA and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are working to determine what led to the "workplace fatalities" at the Erwin facility, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce said in a statement.

In their evening flash update, TEMA has confirmed that four people have died due to weather-related injuries, and six people remain missing in Unicoi County. Authorities have not confirmed how many fatalities and missing people are associated with Impact Plastics.

-ABC News' Victoria Arancio

Oct 02, 2024, 11:11 PM EDT

Helene death roll rises to 189, making it deadliest since Hurricane Katrina

The confirmed death toll for Hurricane Helene rose to at least 189 people as of Wednesday evening, The Associated Press reported, making it the deadliest hurricane since Katrina to hit the mainland U.S.

A drone view shows a damaged area following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Lake Lure, North Carolina, Oct. 1, 2024.
Marco Bello/Reuters

As recovery efforts continued across the Southeast, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the region Wednesday to survey the destruction while rescuers keep searching for the missing.

"I'm here to say the United States -- the nation -- has your back," Biden told a crowd in Raleigh, North Carolina. "We're not leaving till you're back on your feet completely."