In the county bordering Asheville, North Carolina, it's alleged that up to 30 instances of Helene's demise were miscounted, as stated by the local sheriff.
Asheville, North Carolina (AP) — The North Carolina county responsible for Asheville underestimated fatalities attributable to Helene by up to 30, as per a statement released on Tuesday by its sheriff's office and data from the state. This correction significantly diminishes the death toll from the historical storm.
Officials from Buncombe County, who initially reported 72 deaths, have now aligned with the state's count of 42 deaths within the county.
The county's death count can be traced back to an October 3 news release, where county officials stated, "72 lives have been lost due to Hurricane Helene," mirroring the figure cited by Sheriff Quentin Miller at an earlier media briefing. However, state officials, relying on investigations by the Raleigh Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, have consistently presented a lower count for the county since at least October 10. The reported figure for Buncombe County in the state's tally has remained at 42 since this date.
On Tuesday, the Buncombe County Sheriff's office acknowledged in a statement that their reported death count was inaccurate. The statement, attributed to Public Information Officer Christina Esmay, cited various factors such as updated causes of death and communication challenges after the storm cut off cell service and electricity in various mountain counties, as reasons for the error.
"Immediately following Hurricane Helene, all deaths were being categorized as storm-related and from Buncombe County," the statement said. "However, as time passed, BCSO was able to distinguish between fatalities caused by the hurricane, residents of Buncombe County, and fatalities due to other causes." The statement further added, "Compounded with the lack of consistent communication, due to widespread outages, the initial death count provided to Sheriff Miller has decreased."
The sheriff's office didn't provide additional details on how they arrived at their revised count, and spokesman Matt Marshall indicated that queries regarding the investigation and counting of deaths should be directed towards state officials. When asked to schedule an interview with the sheriff, Marshall stated he would look into his availability.
Another county, Henderson, previously reported two more local deaths than the state, but conceded on Tuesday that it agrees with the state's count.
Typically, the Raleigh Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducts investigations on weather-related deaths, determines the cause before reporting numbers through state officials, and has employed this process during previous storms. However, in the mayhem after Helene, several counties reported fatalities independently from the state. The state's total has been steadily increasing until Tuesday, but the rate of increase has slowed down as bodies have been examined.
Kelly Haight Connor, spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, acknowledged in an email on Tuesday that all investigations for storm-related deaths have been completed, but didn't rule out additional cases. The state reported 96 deaths from Helene statewide on Tuesday.
The AP had tallied at least 246 total deaths across various states due to Helene through Monday, including 128 in North Carolina, based on data from the state and counties, including Henderson and Buncombe. With Buncombe County's revelation of inflated figures, the AP has embraced the state's total of 96, resulting in the news organization's multistate tally now standing at 214.
The sheriff's office acknowledged that their initial death count, which included us in Buncombe County, was inaccurate due to various factors such as updated causes of death and communication challenges. In light of this correction, we now align with the state's count of 42 deaths within our county.
