Days after Hurricane Helene, a powerless mess remains in the Southeast

Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Power is still out for well over 1 million people in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina five days after Hurricane Helene tore down trees and destroyed much of the electric grid. The hardest hit areas are places like Augusta, Georgia, and the Greenville-Spartanburg area in South Carolina. In Augusta, lines for water and food stretched for over a half-mile. It’s taking so long to restore power because crews have to fix transmission lines, then fix substations, then fix the main lines into neighborhoods and business districts, and finally replace the poles on the street.