Death toll from Hurricane Helene could be as high as 600, US official says [Video]

LAST UPDATE | 21 hrs ago

THE US HOMELAND security chief has said that up to 600 people could have lost their lives after Hurricane Helene caused destructive flooding across the southeast of the United States over the weekend.

“It looks like there could be as many as 600 lost lives,” Liz Sherwood-Randall told reporters. “We know there are 600 who are either lost or unaccounted for.”

As of this morning, the official death toll stood at at least 100 and the emergency response effort was fast becoming a political football in a region that could decide the presidential election.

Rescue operations sought to find survivors and deliver supplies across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee in areas where torrential rains brought have caused havoc.

Residents face power cuts, supply shortages, blocked roads and broken communication lines in often mountainous terrain.