Helene aftermath: More than 130 dead, historic flooding, millions without power amid catastrophic destruction
Historic, 'once-in-a-generation' Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic flooding, ferocious winds, and perilous conditions that extend hundreds of miles inland.
From extreme storm surge on the Florida coast to destructive flooding in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, Hurricane Helene left behind a massive trail of damage.
As the stunning scope of widespread damage across Florida and Georgia becomes clear, extreme rain from Helene continued to unleash catastrophic flooding in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia throughout the weekend.
Helene's death toll has passed 130, with deaths reported in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. At least 56 people are dead in North Carolina, according to county and state officials and 30 deaths have been reported in South Carolina, including two firefighters, authorities said. At least 25 people have died in Georgia with two killed by a tornado in Alamo, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp. In Florida, at least 11 people have died including several people who drowned in Pinellas County. Four deaths have been reported in Tennessee and two people have died in Virginia, officials said Sunday.
Torrential rain from Hurricane Helene, falling on top of days of rain from a separate storm, caused devastating floods that washed away buildings and cars in western North Carolina.
In North Carolina, Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said officials have received about 600 missing persons reports through an online form. Supplies are being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville Pinder said, telling The Associated Press she would have food and water to the city by Monday.
“We hear you. We need food and we need water. My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”
An aerial view of damaged houses are seen after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, on September 28, 2024. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)
AccuWeather warned the public and officials of the catastrophic risk to lives and property in the southern Appalachians on Sept. 24,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist John Porter, adding that the scale of this historic flooding disaster in the southern Appalachians cannot be understated.
"The majority of homes and businesses in some communities are destroyed and some have been washed away. Bridges, roadways and other expensive and critical infrastructure have been heavily damaged or destroyed. Pictures and video from the scene, as limited as those reports have been due to ongoing major communication infrastructure damage, suggest one of the worst flooding disasters in United States history, with tragically striking similarities in damage to other catastrophic floods such as flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina, the flooding from Hurricane Harvey and the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Floods of 1889 and 1977.”
Dozens of homes in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, were swept away with many missing and rescues still ongoing as of Sunday morning.
One of the most colossal storms to strike the Gulf of Mexico in the past century, Helene's devastation is far-reaching. It unleashed unprecedented storm surges, ferocious winds and perilous conditions that extended hundreds of miles inland.
Describing the impact of the storm as “stunning,” President Joe Biden said he would visit affected areas this week adding that the administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.
Thousands of water rescues amid catastrophic flooding
As floodwaters from Helene surged around a hospital in eastern Tennessee on Sept. 27, helicopter crews from Virginia arrived to bring patients and staff to safety.
Flooding emergencies took place throughout the weekend across Florida, north through Atlanta, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee. Thousands of water rescues taking place in the hours since Helene's ferocious landfall in Florida's Big Bend area late Thursday night.
In one of the more dramatic water rescues, dozens of patients and staff were forced onto the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Eastern Tennessee Friday morning when turbulent floodwaters from the overflowing Nolichucky River surged around the building. Luckily, helicopters arrived to bring everyone to safety.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime storm for sure," Michael Baker, an alderman in Erwin, Tennessee Baker, said. "This is unprecedented."
More than 32 inches of rainfall
More than 32 inches of rain fell in Jeter Mountain, North Carolina, and nearly 30 inches was reported in Busick, North Carolina.
Atlanta recorded 11.2 inches in 48 hours, beating out its 9.59-inch record that had stood since 1886.
Atlanta, Georgia, declared an emergency on Sept. 27, as Hurricane Helene made landfall in northern Florida. More than 20 water rescues were conducted including this person floating on an air mattress.
Millions without power
Several states are still dealing with major power outages four days after Helene made landfall. The most affected are Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, which together have more than 2 million customers without power as of Monday morning.
At the height of outages, more than 4 million customers were without power early Friday. For hurricanes, this is the largest number since Hurricane Irma knocked out power to 7.6 million customers in 2017.
Record-breaking storm surge
The National Hurricane Center estimated, based on computer modeling, that Hurricane Helene's storm surge reached at least 15 feet near Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee and Horseshoe Beach, Florida.
The National Weather Service only has one tidal gauge in the Big Bend of Florida, at Cedar Key. That gauge reached 10.3 feet, breaking its previous record of 6.89 feet, set during Hurricane Idalia in 2023. Once a serene beach town, Cedar Key now lies in ruins, a testament to the unfathomable destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene.
Storm chaser Brandon Clement captured the widespread devastation in a harrowing drone video, and the devastation is evident in every frame. The relentless waters submerged homes, businesses and landmarks, leaving behind a landscape of debris.
This drone video from storm chaser Brandon Clement showcases the widespread destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene in the aftermath on Sept. 27. The storm made landfall the previous night.
According to Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff of Pinellas County near St. Petersburg, several fatalities occurred in neighborhoods where evacuation orders had been issued. Some residents, who disregarded the warnings, ended up seeking refuge in their attics to escape the rising floodwaters.
The full extent of damage has yet to be revealed in hard-to-reach locations. Western North Carolina was essentially cut off because of landslides and flooding that closed Interstate 40 and other roads.
As of Saturday morning, NCDOT said 400 roads were closed. In many cases, roads and bridges that got washed out also damaged water, gas, and communications lines. This could take weeks to fix and leave relief organizations unable to reach the areas where help is most needed. In many cases, people have been unable to reach loved ones because of downed cell phone towers.
Francine Cavanaugh told the AP she has been unable to reach her sister, son, or friends in the Asheville area. “My sister checked in with me yesterday morning to find out how I was in Atlanta,” she said on Saturday. “The storm was just hitting her in Asheville, and she said it sounded really scary outside.”
Cavanaugh said her sister was unaware a hurricane making landfall in Florida could be so bad in North Carolina and said her sister was going to check on guests at a vacation cabin, “and that’s the last I heard of her. I’ve been texting everyone that I know with no response. All phone calls go directly to voicemail.”
Top wind gusts
Although there weren't many weather stations in the remote area where it made landfall, the strongest wind gust recorded during Hurricane Helene was 107 mph at the West Tampa Buoy in the Gulf of Mexico. Perry, Florida also gusted to 98 mph, with 100 mph at Alma, Georgia.
As the massive storm moved ashore Thursday night, maximum winds in the eye of Helene reached 140 mph, prompting a rare “extreme wind warning” to be issued by the National Weather Service (NWS), which urged people to treat the storm like a tornado and take shelter in a safe interior room. “THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION!” the NWS said in the alert.
Hurricanes making landfall often generate tornadoes in their outer rainbands and Helene did just that. According to preliminary National Weather Service storm surveys, over a dozen tornadoes could have formed from the period prior to landfall (Sept. 25-26) through the time after landfall (Sept. 27), affecting areas from Georgia to West Virginia. Before Helene made landfall, a tornado in Wheeler County, southeast Georgia, demolished a mobile home, resulting in two deaths.
One of the most destructive tornadoes hit Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Sept. 27, damaging around 11 buildings and injuring 15 people.
Damage and economic loss between $145 - $160 billion
AccuWeather has increased its estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Heleneâ¯to $145 billion to $160 billion.
This drone video from storm chaser Brandon Clement showcases the widespread destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene in the aftermath on Sept. 27. The storm made landfall the previous night.
This update represents an increase from AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate late last week of total damage and economic loss of $95 billion to $110 billion issued while the storm’s most significant impacts were still occurring.â¯The increase reflects the additional, grim damage reports received over the past 48 hours and makes Hurricane Helene one of the costliest storms in United States history because of the devastating storm surge, damaging winds and historic flooding. In particular, the catastrophic flooding disaster in the southern Appalachians including Asheville, North Carolina, and surrounding areas, as well as the widespread storm surge impacts along the populated west coast of Florida, such as Tampa Bay, are significant contributing factors to the estimate.
Long and overwhelming road to recovery
Bradley Tennant looks through his house flooded with water from Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
“Over the last couple of days, we’ve been able to offer safe shelter. We had thousands last night in shelters across several states,” Tracy Fox, National Spokesperson for the American Red Cross, told AccuWeather during an interview on Friday.
National Spokesperson from the American Red Cross Tracy Fox speaks on how the Red Cross is stepping in to assist those impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“Our top priority right now is ensuring that everyone has a safe place, they have a safe shelter, whether it’s for the day to cool off, charge their phones, get something to eat and then we’re also out on the front lines.”
While the worst of Helene is over, the extensive cleanup and recovery process is just beginning, with the Red Cross and many other organizations coming together to help those in need.
CLICK HERE to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.
AccuWeather’s Bill Wadell reported live from Keaton Beach, Florida, where people were starting to pick up the pieces in a town where buildings were completely leveled by Helene.
Standing amid absolute devastation in his neighborhood in Keaton Beach in Steinhatchee, Florida where storm surge reached at least 15 feet, resident Travis Hellemn fought back tears as he told AccuWeather's Bill Wadell, "Our house is one of the only few standing...This is gonna take a while to clean up and I don't know that we'll ever piece together all of it. We'll just do the best we can. It's a good community, so everyone will just team up together, and we'll get it back like before as close as we can."
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