As of Tuesday, Hurricane Helene has claimed the lives of over 230 people in six states, while hundreds more were unaccounted for.
The twin brothers Khyzier and Khazmir Williams, who are thought to be the youngest victims of Hurricane Helene, are among the dead. When a tree fell through their mobile home in Thomson, Georgia, the five-week-old twins and their mother, Kobe Williams, perished as well.
The boys’ grandmother and Williams’ mother, Mary Jones, told Today.com that “nobody was taking the storm seriously.” The wind was really loud when it first started. Kobe saw the lights go out and became quite afraid. She was concerned for the infants.
Jones and her daughter watched the hurricane wreak destruction outside their house all night long. Approximately 5:15 a.m. Williams needed to sleep, so Jones fed Khyzier, but she was too afraid to sleep.
Eventually, Williams stayed awake and Jones went to sleep. Jones woke up to a “strange shushing” sound and a spooky silence less than an hour after falling asleep.
When she went to look into it, she saw that her daughter’s bedroom had been broken through by a tree.
“I let out a loud cry, ‘Kobe! Respond to me! Kindly respond to me! I was only able to see branches because it was so dark.
Williams and her boys were nowhere to be found by the rushing neighbors, but the rubble was too heavy. Everyone’s greatest suspicions were confirmed by the police when they came.
“Are they still alive, I asked? Jones stated, “And (one officer) said, ‘It’s bad, don’t go in there.” And I simply broke down. I went crazy.
“The tree collapsed on her head when she was holding the babies in her arms. Markeya Jones, Jones’s granddaughter, stated, “She was trying to protect them.”
Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Helene has been the most deadly hurricane to strike the United States mainland.
As people in the southeast continue to clean up after Hurricane Milton, many are preparing for what might be another record-breaking storm as it approaches the Tampa Bay Area.
The level of destruction Hurricane Helene left behind is beyond description. The fact that so many people’s families and means of subsistence were destroyed in a couple of hours grieves me.