Hurricane Helene’s death toll climbed to at least 161 by September 29, according to CBS News, as the Southeast continued to count losses from flooding, wind damage and widespread power outages.
The report says the storm had killed people across several states and that the worst destruction appeared to be concentrated in the Carolinas. North Carolina had at least 77 confirmed deaths, while South Carolina had 36. Georgia had at least 25, Florida 13, Tennessee six weather-related deaths and Virginia at least two. Those figures alone show how large and geographically spread the disaster had become.
CBS News described federal and state leaders racing to coordinate aid. President Biden planned to travel to North Carolina for a briefing and aerial survey, while federal response personnel were being deployed in large numbers. The report also says more than 3,500 federal response personnel were on the ground and that urban search and rescue teams were being expanded.
The material points to a disaster that overwhelmed infrastructure in multiple places. Power remained out for more than a million and a half customers by the time of the update. Roads were impassable in western North Carolina, communications were cut off in some hard-hit areas, and rescue crews were still reaching stranded residents. In Asheville and surrounding communities, floodwaters had damaged roads and homes while isolating neighborhoods.
The report includes especially stark details from Buncombe County, where 57 deaths were reported. It also notes that more than 95,000 homes and businesses in the county were without power and that World Central Kitchen had arrived to provide food support. These are the kinds of details that show a relief operation still in its opening phase rather than a disaster already contained.
Elsewhere, the report says two dams in East Tennessee were at risk of failing before ultimately holding, and that evacuation orders had been issued in Newport, Tennessee. On Florida’s Gulf Coast, some communities were still recovering from previous storms when Helene delivered what local officials described as a knockout blow.
The key point for a concise news report is that Helene was already a historic event by September 29. The death toll had passed 160, the damage was spread across multiple states, and emergency response efforts were still trying to catch up with the scale of the flooding and destruction.
Because the supplied evidence is a live update, the numbers were still moving. But CBS News had confirmed one central fact that can anchor the story: this was not just another strong hurricane. It was a major regional catastrophe with a death toll already above 160 and more losses expected as responders reached isolated areas.
