In an update on Monday afternoon, officials with the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office reported one more death has been confirmed connected to Hurricane Helene in Mecklenburg County. In that case, officials said, a 70-year-old man died after being struck by a falling tree. His death was recorded on Oct. 8.
The latest information available shows 125 people in North Carolina have died in connection to hurricane-induced floods, landslides, and other related conditions. Of those, 117 victims were killed or lived in Western North Carolina.
An unknown number of fatalities remains under investigation and state officials say reporting of the number of deaths will continue as recovery efforts unfold and authorities can conduct more death investigations.
In at least five of the victims’ cases, authorities say they were killed in the hurricane’s aftermath – due to a lack of access to basic necessities (including exposure to cold weather) or lack of access to routine medical treatment. In another instance, a senior from Buncombe County died after leaving the disaster zone and being fatally injured in a fall in temporary housing in Wake County.
In addition, the manner or cause of death has not been determined for more than 30 of the victims.
Locally, three of the victims have been confirmed to be children. That includes a 7-year-old boy who drowned in Buncombe County on Sept. 30 and two children, ages 7 and 9, in Yancey County. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death for the two young victims in Yancey.
Editor’s Note: Also Monday, state officials reported that one death previously attributed to Helene in Yancey County has been re-classified to be from Macon County. The issue occurred due to a clerical error (the total number of deaths reported was not changed due to the correction).