91 Dead From Helene; President Biden Likely To Visit

Updated at 9:45 p.m. ET Sunday

FLORIDA — Some of the communities devastated by Hurricane Helene , which left a path of death and destruction in its wake across the Southeast, will be visited this week by President Joe Biden. He said Sunday he will visit areas hit by the storm as long as it does not disrupt rescue and recovery operations.

Former President Donald Trump has said he plans to visit hard-hit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday.

The number of fatalities reached 91 dead across several states, according to the Associated Press — including 11 in Florida — and damage estimates sat at over $95 billion.

Among Sunday's total were 30 people killed due to the storm in the North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville and several other fatalities reported in that state.

In Florida, Helene was the strongest storm ever to hit Big Bend and caused a record storm surge around Tampa Bay, including in areas that had never before flooded, according to The New York Times.

The communities of Cedar Key, East Bay, Old Port Tampa, Clearwater Beach, St. Petersburg and Port Manatee all saw storm surge records of 2.3 feet or more above their previous records, The Washington Post reported. Early modeling revealed parts of the Big Bend had water levels over 15 feet higher than ground level, early modeling showed, according to the Post.

“It’s total devastation,” Scott Peters, a bar owner in the Big Bend coastal community of Steinhatchee, told USA Today.

The area was hit by a 10-foot wall of water, the newspaper reported.

Related:

• Barrier Islands Reopen To Residents, Business Owners: Pinellas County
• St. Pete Food Trucks Offer Free Meals To Those Affected By Helene
• Pinellas Death Toll Increases To 9, Names Of 8 Victims Released

Efforts to restore power to counties hit by the brunt of the storm continued to progress Sunday. At one point Thursday about 2 million Florida utility customers were without power. By 6 p.m. Sunday, the number still offline had dropped to 167,222, according to PowerOutage.us.

Further south, Cedar Key, which has water levels 10 inches higher than they were 110 years ago, the Post reported, is “completely gone,” resident Michael Bobbitt told the Times. The community was hit with over nine feet of water above normal high tide, according to the Post, which reported houses collapsed or were carried off their foundations by water.

Helene came ashore in the Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, packing winds of 140 mph before quickly moving through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

Of those killed in Florida, nine were people who drowned in their homes in a mandatory evacuation area in Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. None of the victims were from Taylor County, which is where the storm made landfall. It came ashore near the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 20 miles northwest of where Hurricane Idalia hit last year at nearly the same ferocity.

Power was restored for over 2.1 million customers in Florida, while 222,089 remained without it as of just before 10 a.m. Sunday, according to poweroutage.us. A boil water notice was reported for Marion County, according to the governor's office.

While Helene passed more than 100 miles offshore, Tyler Fleming, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tampa, told the Washington Post the storm’s large wind field contributed to the unusually high storm surge in the Tampa Bay region.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Sunday that the state had received approval for a major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The declaration will allow for resident and houehold assistance in Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Sarasota, Taylor and Wakulla counties. It will also provide for emergency work and damage repair in Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor and Wakulla counties.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Sunday the federal disaster agency is actively engaged across six states, meeting the requests of governors and state-level responders. The needs vary across the six states with active disaster declarations, Criswell said, and she confirmed that conditions in the Appalachian regions across North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia presented particular concern.

At least 1,500 emergency workers are focusing on search and rescue efforts in Florida after Helene, Florida's top emergency management official said Friday, according to Accuweather.

Hundreds of rescues were made by police and fire crews across the Tampa region in the aftermath of the storm.

Deputies rescued about 100 people from the Ramada Inn on North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota on Thursday night as water from Sarasota Bay began flooding the ground floor, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Multiple deputies waded through rising water to evacuate the guests, which included several elderly people in wheelchairs.

Several bridges crossing Tampa Bay were closed during the worst of the storm, according to authorities. The Howard Frankland Bridge fully reopened Friday afternoon after northbound lanes were closed for nearly 24 hours. By Friday evening, the Gandy and Sunshine Skyway Bridges also reopened.

The Courtney Campbell Causeway fully reopened Saturday morning, state police said.

President Joe Biden said he was praying for survivors, and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency headed to the area. The agency deployed more than 1,500 workers, and they helped with 400 rescues by late Friday morning.

Officials urged people who were trapped to call for rescuers and not tread floodwaters, warning they can be dangerous due to live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.

DeSantis said that the state has reopened its private Disaster Fund, which allows residents to make charitable contributions to help people affected by the storm.

Anyone in need of non-emergency information may call the State Assistance Information Line at 1-800-342-3557. DeSantis added that for the next two weeks, the Hope Florida Line will be open 24/7 for anyone who needs help with food, shelter, or other in the aftermath of Helene: 1-833-438-4673.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.