South Carolina, Tennessee Join Other States Declaring Public Health Emergencies

South Carolina and Tennessee are the latest states to declare public health emergencies stemming from Hurricane Helene.

Flood damage at Riverview Industrial Park on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Erwin, Tennessee, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

From last Thursday, when Hurricane Helene made landfall for the first time, through Monday, torrential downpours and heavy rains crushed areas of the southeast United States. With the storm dissipating on Monday, the work is only going to get tougher.

Clean-up along with search and rescue missions have begun as there are hundreds of people reported as missing. With a death toll already at 125, that number is sadly going to be on the rise.

Severe flooding has left some towns completely submerged and underwater like something out of a movie. People are heading to the roofs of buildings and hoping to get airlifted to safety as remote locations make it difficult to bring supplies to.

Earlier Tuesday, some measures were taking to try and help the process of bringing aid to people in need.

South Carolina and Tennessee have both declared public health emergencies, as shared by Marlene Lenthang and John Filippelli of NBC News.

“We will do all we can to help officials in South Carolina and Tennessee respond to the health impacts of Hurricane Helene,” said U.S Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement from HHS. “We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as with our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.”

Similar measures have previously been taken in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. About 200 personnel are currently in the impacted areas on orders from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

"Hundreds of dedicated medical professionals from ASPR are engaged in the disaster response to help citizens affected by Hurricane Helene,” said Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell “We will do everything we can to support the states as they work to bring the local health care infrastructure back to normal operations." 

State and local officials will be working closely with the ASPR personnel to access the damage that has been done to medical facilities. Hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers and other healthcare-related amenities will be included to ensure people get the aid they need during this trying time.

Along with the PHE declarations in the aforementioned states, President Joe Biden had issued emergency declarations previously for all of them along with Alabama as well.

Per the release, “PHE declarations give the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.”

Personnel is moving fast as another major storm is brewing in the Atlantic. Tropical Depression Twelve is expected to develop into major Hurricane Kirk midweek, which could bring more destruction to these areas depending on the path the storm takes.