Buncombe County overcounted Helene deaths by as many as 30, sheriff says

The North Carolina county that is home to Asheville overcounted deaths caused by Helene by as many as 30, according to a statement Tuesday from its sheriff's office and data from the state, significantly reducing the death toll from the historic storm.

Buncombe County officials, who previously reported 72 deaths, are now deferring to a state tally of 42 deaths for the county.

The county's number dates back to an Oct. 3 news release in which county officials reported that "72 lives have been lost due to Hurricane Helene," 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 state's tally has stood at 42 since at least Oct. 10.

On Tuesday, the Buncombe County Sheriff's 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.

"In 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," the statement said. "Compounded with the lack of consistent communication, due to widespread outages, the Buncombe County fatality number that was initially provided to Sheriff Miller has decreased."

The sheriff's 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 state's 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 couldn't rule out the possibility of the number increasing.

Haight Connor didn't 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 state's tally.

The AP 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 state's total of 96, so the news organization's multistate tally now stands at 214.