69制片厂制作传媒播

The county69制片厂制作传媒檚 number dates back to an Oct. 3 news release in which county officials reported that 69制片厂制作传媒�72 lives have been lost due to Hurricane Helene,69制片厂制作传媒� repeating a number cited by Sheriff Quentin Miller at an earlier media briefing. But state officials, relying on reviews by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, have consistently reported a number lower than that for the county. The number for Buncombe County included in the state69制片厂制作传媒檚 tally has stood at 42 since at least Oct. 10.

On Tuesday, the Buncombe County Sheriff69制片厂制作传媒檚 office acknowledged in a statement that the number of deaths in the county was lower than the number it provided. The statement attributed to Public Information Officer Christina Esmay cited factors ranging from updated causes of death to communication challenges after the storm knocked out cell service and electricity in multiple mountain counties.

69制片厂制作传媒淚n the early aftermath of Hurricane Helene all deaths were being classified as storm related and from Buncombe County. However, as the days progressed BCSO was able to identify who had passed away due to the hurricane, who was in fact from Buncombe County, and who passed away from other causes,69制片厂制作传媒� the statement said. 69制片厂制作传媒淐ompounded with the lack of consistent communication, due to widespread outages, the Buncombe County fatality number that was initially provided to Sheriff Miller has decreased.69制片厂制作传媒�

The sheriff69制片厂制作传媒檚 office did not provide additional information on how they arrived at their tally, and spokesman Matt Marshall said any other questions about how deaths have been investigated and counted should be sent to state officials. In response to a request to interview the sheriff, Marshall said he would look into his availability.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh typically reviews weather deaths and makes a ruling on cause before reporting numbers through state officials, a process it has used in past storms for years. But in the chaos following Helene, a number of counties reported fatality numbers independently of the state. The state69制片厂制作传媒檚 tally has gradually increased through Tuesday, but the climb has slowed as bodies have been examined.

State Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Kelly Haight Connor told the Citizen-Times in Asheville on Monday that all storm-related deaths found in the mountains have been examined and accounted for, but she couldn69制片厂制作传媒檛 rule out the possibility of the number increasing.

Haight Connor didn69制片厂制作传媒檛 immediately respond to several follow up questions from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The state reported 96 deaths from Helene statewide on Tuesday. Another county, Henderson, had previously reported two more deaths than the state, but said on Tuesday that it agrees with the state69制片厂制作传媒檚 tally.

The Associated Press had tallied at least 246 total deaths across multiple states due to Helene through Monday, including 128 in North Carolina, based on data from the state and counties including Henderson and Buncombe.

With the disclosure from Buncombe County that its number was inflated, the AP has adopted the state69制片厂制作传媒檚 total of 96, so the news organization69制片厂制作传媒檚 multistate tally now stands at 214.