Hurricane Helene slams Florida, Georgia and other states with flooding, power outages - at least 200 dead, 600 missing (UPDATES)

Al Jazeera
Fri, 27 Sep 2024 10:08 UTC

A tornado killed two people in the US state of Georgia, the governor said, as Hurricane Helene churned into the state after causing one death in the neighbouring state of Florida, where it barrelled ashore in the southeastern United States.

Helene weakened to a Category 1 hurricane early on Friday with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), but it left a deadly trail of destruction in both states.

More than 55 million people in the US have been placed under some form of weather alert.

As of Friday morning, broadcaster ABC reported two deaths in Georgia's Wheeler County, while Florida confirmed one death, after a sign fell on a car on a highway in Tampa City.

The hurricane made landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm as forecasters warned that the enormous system could create a "nightmare" storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern US.

Helene was moving rapidly inland after making landfall, with the risk of tornadoes continuing in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and southern North Carolina, forecasters said.

"Helene continues to produce catastrophic winds that are now pushing into southern Georgia," the NHC said in an update on Friday. "Persons should not leave their shelters and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions."

Florida state authorities provided buses to evacuate people from the Big Bend area, home to about 832,000 people, and taking them to shelters in the state capital, Tallahassee.

Officials in Florida urged residents to heed mandatory evacuation orders or face life-threatening conditions ahead of the hurricane's landfall.

"EVERYONE along the Florida Big Bend coast is at risk of potentially catastrophic storm surge," the NHC said on social media.

States of emergency were also declared in Virginia and Alabama, as the NHC warned that much of the southeast could experience power outages, toppled trees and intense flooding

In the southern Appalachian mountains, the National Weather Service has warned the region could be hit with landslides and flooding not seen in more than a century.

"This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era," it said.

Only three Gulf hurricanes since 1988 - Irma in 2017, Wilma in 2005, and Opal in 1995 - have been bigger than Helene's predicted size, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach, The Associated Press news agency reported.

Comment: Update September 28

Newsnationnow.com reports:

After making landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, Helene is continuing to track inland as a weakened tropical storm, bringing flooding and leaving millions without power in the Southeast.

There have been at least 44 reported fatalities from the storm across five states after catastrophic flooding and storm surge that left destruction in their wake, according to The Associated Press.

Deaths have been confirmed in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Multiple deaths have been attributed to drowning, while some were the result of trees falling. State officials say dozens more are still trapped inside their homes, The Associated Press reports.

In Florida, crews have been working to rescue people stuck in floodwaters with some areas experiencing up to 9 feet of flooding. Crews are also dealing with downed powerlines and other hazards from the storm.

As Helene barreled through Georgia, wind gusts over 90 mph were reported with sustained winds at 60 mph. Headed toward the Carolinas, there are flood warnings across the Southeast, including North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and southern Illinois and southern Indiana.

In Western North Carolina, significant flooding and road closures were reported with the Lake Lure Dam in Rutherford County at imminent risk of failure. Those in the area were being advised to evacuate immediately.

The flash flood emergency remains in place until 2 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Rising floodwaters and a mudslide washed out the interstate near the North Carolina-Tennessee state line. The closure occurred around 12:30 p.m. Friday and is expected to reopen by 5 p.m. Saturday, NewsNation local affiliate WJZY reports.

Millions have also been left without power thanks to the storm.

More than 595,000 people in Florida are left without power, along with 860,000 outages reported in Georgia, more than 1.16 million in South Carolina and more than 812,000 in North Carolina.

As the weakened system makes its way north, power outages are following. Virginia is reporting more than 220,000 without power, while Ohio has more than 315,000.

Update September 29

AP reports:

At least 64 dead and millions without power after Helene's deadly march across the Southeast

Massive rains from powerful Hurricane Helene left people stranded, without shelter and awaiting rescue Saturday, as the cleanup began from a tempest that killed at least 64 people, caused widespread destruction across the U.S. Southeast and left millions without power.

"I've never seen so many people homeless as what I have right now," said Janalea England, of Steinhatchee, Florida, a small river town along the state's rural Big Bend, as she turned her commercial fish market into a storm donation site for friends and neighbors, many of whom couldn't get insurance on their homes.

Helene blew ashore in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday with winds of 140 mph (225 kph).

From there, it quickly moved through Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it "looks like a bomb went off" after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air. Weakened, Helene then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.

Update September 30

CBS News reports:

The number of storm-related deaths climbed past 100 across the Southeast on Sunday as authorities rushed to airdrop supplies, restore power and clear roads after massive rains from the powerful Helene left people stranded and without shelter.

Helene left at least 116 people dead, CBS News has confirmed, and caused widespread destruction.

Thirty fatalities were reported in Buncombe County, North Carolina — in one of the states hit hardest by the storm.

Helene knocked out power to several million customers. More than two million still had no electricity early Monday, according to utility tracker Find Energy.

But But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday night that 99% of the state's homes and businesses had had power restored.

Update October 1

ITV reports:

At least 133 people have died as Hurricane Helene continues to devastate the United States causing widespread flooding along its south east coastline.

Flood-stricken North Carolina has suffered significant damage, with reports of 30 people having been killed in the mountain city of Asheville.

President Biden has said he will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday.

There are fears the death toll may continue to rise as rescuers and emergency workers continue to explore areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure, and widespread flooding.

During a briefing Monday, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall suggested that as many as 600 people haven't been accounted for, noting that some of them might be dead.

Update October 2

CNN reports:

Climbing death toll: At least 182 people have died across six states and officials fear the death toll could rise following Hurricane Helene.

Many more remain missing, perhaps unable to leave their location or contact family where communications infrastructure is in shreds.

Power and infrastructure outages: Hundreds of roads remain closed, especially in the Carolinas, hampering the delivery of badly needed supplies. Some areas are so inaccessible supplies are being delivered by mules and by air. More than 1.2 million customers are without power, according to PowerOutage.us, most in the Carolinas, where "major portions of the power grid... were simply wiped away."

Update October 3

AP reports:

Hurricane Helene's death toll reached 200 on Thursday and could rise higher still, as searchers made their way toward the hardest to reach places in the mountains of western North Carolina, where the storm washed out roads and knocked out electricity, water and cellular service.

Officials in Georgia and North Carolina added to their states' grim tallies, padding an overall count that has already made Helene the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.