In a heartbreaking turn of events, a Georgia mother and her month-old twin boys have been identified as the youngest victims of Hurricane Helene, which wreaked havoc across the southeastern United States last week.
Kobe Williams, 27, was hunkered down in her trailer home in Thomson, Georgia, with her twin sons, Khyzier and Khazmir, and her mother, Mary Jones, when the storm struck.
As the hurricane battered the area, Obie Williams, Kobe’s father, was in contact with his daughter, who reassured him she would shelter in the bathroom until the storm passed. Despite her promise, tragedy struck when a tree crashed through the roof of the bedroom where Kobe and the twins were resting.
After failing to respond to family calls, Jones frantically searched for her daughter, only to find that Kobe and the twins had perished.
“I’d seen pictures when they were born and pictures every day since, but I hadn’t made it out there yet to meet them,” Obie Williams lamented. “Now I’ll never get to meet my grandsons. It’s devastating.”
The twins, born on August 20, are among at least 225 confirmed fatalities attributed to Hurricane Helene, which has devastated parts of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The storm’s death toll is expected to rise as rescuers reach isolated areas.
“She was so excited to be a mother of those beautiful twin boys,” said Chiquita Jones-Hampton, Kobe’s niece. “She was doing such a good job and was so proud to be their mom.” The family is reeling from the loss, with a funeral scheduled for Friday.
The storm left significant damage in the area, as Obie Williams described his home city of Augusta, just 30 miles from Thomson, as littered with downed power lines and fallen trees. Many of his 14 other children are still without power, and some have sought refuge elsewhere.
Kobe Williams is remembered as a vibrant and sociable individual who had a talent for making people laugh.
“That was my baby,” Obie Williams reflected. “And everybody loved her.”
