RALEIGH, N.C. — Recent revelations have emerged regarding the death toll linked to Hurricane Helene in Buncombe County, home to Asheville. The county’s reported deaths have been adjusted downwards by as much as 30 after a review of the figures by the sheriff’s office and state officials. This revision has significantly decreased the originally stated death toll from the catastrophic storm.
Initially, Buncombe County officials had declared that 72 lives were lost due to Hurricane Helene in a news release dated October 3. This claim was echoed by Sheriff Quentin Miller during a media briefing. However, the state has consistently maintained a lower death toll, identifying 42 deaths in the county since at least October 10, as determined by findings from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh.
On Tuesday, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged this discrepancy. Public Information Officer Christina Esmay cited various factors contributing to the inflated number, including updated death cause determinations and difficulties in communication following the storm, which disrupted cell service and electricity across the mountainous areas.
“In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, all deaths were initially classified as storm-related and presumed to be from Buncombe County. As time progressed, the BCSO was able to clarify which individuals had died as a direct result of the hurricane, who was actually from Buncombe County, and those who passed away due to other reasons,” the statement explained. “This, along with the challenges in maintaining communication due to widespread outages, led to the revised fatality count.”
The sheriff’s office did not elaborate on how they arrived at their original figure. Spokesperson Matt Marshall indicated that further inquiries regarding the death investigations should be directed to state authorities. He stated he would look into the possibility of arranging an interview with Sheriff Miller.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh typically conducts thorough reviews of deaths attributed to weather events and determines cause before releasing numbers via state officials. However, in the tumult following Helene, several counties reported their own fatality figures independently. While the state’s reported number does continuously rise, the rate of increase has tapered as investigations into the deaths progress.
Kelly Haight Connor, a spokesperson for the State Department of Health and Human Services, mentioned to local media that all storm-related fatalities in the mountainous regions have been reviewed and accounted for, though she noted that the overall count could still potentially rise.
Haight Connor has yet to respond to multiple follow-up questions regarding the situation. As of Tuesday, the state’s report confirmed 96 fatalities linked to Hurricane Helene statewide. Additionally, Henderson County had previously reported two fatalities more than what the state recorded, but later aligned with the state’s numbers.
As a result of Buncombe County’s admission regarding inflated fatality figures, a total of 246 deaths had been recorded across several states due to Helene, with 128 in North Carolina alone, according to various data sources. After the Buncombe County adjustment, the aggregated death toll inclusive of multiple states now stands at 214.
