UPDATED: Helene's S.C. death toll reaches 48 while recovery efforts continue

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, East Coast residents are still experiencing varying degrees of damage, whether it be flooding, power outages or dangerous debris.

The S.C. Department of Public Safety, on Oct. 5, confirmed 48 South Carolina deaths due to Hurricane Helene. 

• Aiken County: 10 deaths
• Anderson County: five deaths
• Chester County: two deaths
• Chesterfield County: one death
• Greenville County: seven deaths
• Greenwood County: one death
• Laurens County: three deaths
• Newberry County: five deaths
• Richland County: one death
• Saluda County: three deaths
• Spartanburg County: nine deaths
• York County: one death

Across the Southeast, Helene, which came ashore the night of Sept. 26 as a Category 4 with winds of 140 mph, has devastated communities even after speeds fell, flooding creeks and rivers as far north as Tennessee as it quickly moved through multiple states, leaving more than 3 million customers without power and killing over 200, according to the Associated Press.

The Sumter Item reported that according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Brad Carlberg, based in Columbia, flooding has been a concern for Columbia, West Columbia and the Camden area.

He said the Congaree and Wateree rivers crested Sept. 30 and were starting to slowly recede.

On Sept. 29, residents of the Riverland Park neighborhood in Lexington County were informed by Cayce police officers that a voluntary evacuation was issued due to rising water levels, according to earlier reporting from the Chronicle.

Rivers such as the Congaree River began to rise, creating flooding in surrounding areas.

The Columbia Fire Department encouraged citizens to stay out of the Congaree and Broad rivers and to take precautions.

The Southeast River Forecast Center has reported that at 1 p.m. on Sept. 30, the Congaree River had reached 30 feet and 49 inches. This is close to the historic flooding that occurred in 2015 in the Columbia area.

Across South Carolina, according to poweroutage.us, as of 10 a.m. on Oct. 8, there are 21,188 outages reported after Helene. And in Lexington County, according to poweroutage.us, there are 66 outages (two under Dominion Energy and 64 under Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative) as of 10 a.m. on Oct. 8.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster additionally requested an Expedited Major Presidental Disaster Declaration, according to a press release.

If approved, the FEMA Individual Assistance Program will help residents affected by Helene in Abbeville, Richland, Aiken, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Cherokee, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Lexington, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg and Union counties. This program can provide financial assistance to residents.

The Blood Connection is asking community members to donate blood as their blood product inventory is at a critical level. Donation centers are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can find the donation centers at  thebloodconnection.org/donate.

Lexington's donation center is at 5141 Sunset Blvd.

If you would like to volunteer to assist those impacted by Hurricane Helene, you can register at VolunteerSC.org

If you need help with damage, call Crisis Cleanup at 844-965-1386 and volunteers can help with mucking out, cleaning up trees, tarping roofs and clearing debris.

Here are some resources you can contribute to that are helping with recovery efforts  across the Southeast: 

FEMA’s nonprofit partners include the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Convoy of Hope and Heart to Heart International, among others, that are supporting survivors by providing emergency shelter, food, water, cleanup kits, health care supplies and other disaster relief items.

The Red Cross has nearly 900 responders deployed, according to FEMA. As of Saturday, there were at least 1,900 people in more than 80 shelters. Opportunities to help include financial donations, blood donations and volunteering. Go to https://www.redcross.org/.

The Salvation Army is providing meals at six emergency shelters in Georgia. In Florida, five mobile feeding units are in Tallahassee, and 12 are in Perry. The organization is also providing cleanup kits and blankets and is providing meal services to North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. Opportunities to help include financial donations and contributing needed items. Go to https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/.

Convoy of Hope is in Perry to distribute disaster supplies to survivors and partnering with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. Opportunities to help include financial donations. Go to https://convoyofhope.org/.

Heart to Heart International is in Florida with hygiene kits and pharmaceuticals/health care supplies for survivors. Opportunities to help include financial donations. Go to https://www.hearttoheart.org/.

Food for the Poor is delivering pallets of hygiene kits to Catholic Charities in St. Pete and Tamps, Florida, and deploying disaster kits that include tarps and hygiene kits, women’s care kits and children’s activity kits. Opportunities to help include financial donations and volunteering. Go to https://foodforthepoor.org/.

NATIONAL VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER
VOAD is a coalition of the major national voluntary organizations in the U.S. that has made disaster-related work a priority.

National VOAD members and partners will serve these communities as long as necessary. There is no request for donations outside of cash. VOAD organizations as that you do not send unsolicited donated goods, and please do not self-deploy.

• Alabama - Alabama VOAD (www.alvoad.org)
• Florida - FLVOAD (www.wpengine.com)
• Georgia - Georgia VOAD (www.gavoad.org)
• Kentucky - Kentucky Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (www.kentuckyvoad.org)
• North Carolina - North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (www.ncvoad.org)
• South Carolina - www.SCemd.org/recover/volunteer-and-donate/
  Tennessee - Tennessee VOAD (www.tnvoad.org)

TEXT, DON’T CALL

If you are trying to reach someone who was in the area of impact, text rather than try to call. Calling can clog phone lines, while texting leaves lines open for emergencies.

The Sumter Item contributed to this report.

This story has been updated since its original publication to reflect the most recent death and power outage data.