Helene Aftermath: The ‘once-in-a-generation’ hurricane triggered historic flooding, ferocious winds, and dangerous conditions stretching hundreds of miles inland.
Helene Aftermath: Catastrophic Death Toll Rises as Flooding Devastates Multiple States
Helene Aftermath:
As the full extent of destruction spreads across Florida and Georgia, Hurricane Helene unleashed devastating flooding across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia over the weekend in sheets of rain.
Death toll nears 100. Twenty-five have died in South Carolina and at least two firefighters among the dead, officials in North Carolina said 36 fatalities.
At least 17 people were killed in Georgia alone, including two who were taken by a tornado in Alamo, according to Governor Brian Kemp’s spokesperson. Florida officials confirmed 11 deaths, including multiple people who drowned in Pinellas County. Tennessee officials confirmed four deaths. Virginia officials had reported at least two as of Sunday.
In North Carolina, Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder reported that officials have received around 600 missing persons reports through an online form. Supplies are being airlifted to the area surrounding the isolated city of Asheville, with Pinder assuring The Associated Press that food and water would reach the city by Monday.
We hear your concerns. We need food and water urgently. My team has submitted every request the state can assist with, and we are coordinating with all the organizations that can offer help. What I can assure you is that we are very close to getting the support we need.
Helene Aftermath: AccuWeather was the first source to accurately predict the rising threat of life-threatening flash flooding in the southern Appalachians long before Helene made landfall on the Gulf Coast.
On September 24, AccuWeather issued public and official warnings of the catastrophic risk to lives and property in the southern Appalachians ahead of any other known source.
Says AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist John Porter, “The scale of this historic flooding disaster in the southern Appalachians is simply incalculable.”.
Entire communities have lost their homes and businesses completely; some have been taken away. Bridges, roadways, and other vital infrastructures have been washed away or badly damaged.
Limited pictures and videos from affected areas due to various failures in the communication infrastructure bring out one of the worst flooding disasters in U.S. history.
It’s a destruction reminiscent of previous worst floods-floods that ranked with the likes of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey-all the way back to the iconic Johnstown Floods of 1889 and 1977.
Helene Aftermath: The most destructive storm to ever appear in the Gulf of Mexico in the last century, Helene’s damage is massive. It brought about unprecedented storm surges, with powerful winds and perilous conditions hundreds of miles inland.
Helene Aftermath: In dramatic words, Pres. Joe Biden said the devastation that the storm had left was “stunning”, while already planning a visit to the devastated areas this week. He further declared that the administration is providing the states with “everything we have” to assist in their response efforts.
Thousands Rescued Amid Catastrophic Flooding
Helene Aftermath: Flooding emergencies spawned over the weekend from Florida north through Atlanta, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. Thousands of water rescues have occurred within hours of the violent landfall of Helene in Florida’s Big Bend area late Thursday night.
One of the most dramatic situations involved dozens of patients and staff who were forced into taking shelter on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Eastern Tennessee on Friday morning after turbulent floodwaters from the overflowing Nolichucky River surrounded the building. As fate would have it, helicopters arrived to ensure that everyone was alright.
“This is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime storm,” said Michael Baker, an alderman in Erwin, Tennessee. “This is unprecedented.”
More than 32 inches of rainfall was recorded.
Jeter Mountain, North Carolina, received over 32 inches of rain, while Busick, North Carolina, reported nearly 30 inches.
Atlanta recorded 11.2 inches in 48 hours, beating out its 9.59-inch record that had stood since 1886.
The outages peaked at over 4 million customers when the lights went out early Friday. That was more outages as a result of a hurricane since Irma in 2017; it left power out to 7.6 million customers.
Isolated areas have not yet been surveyed for the full extent of damage. Western North Carolina has been effectively cut off by continuing landslides and flooding, including the closure of Interstate 40 and other roads.
Asheville area. “My sister checked in with me yesterday morning to see how I was doing in Atlanta,” she said on Saturday. “The storm was just starting to hit her in Asheville, and she mentioned that it sounded really frightening outside.”
My sister had no idea that a hurricane making landfall in Florida can have such devastating effects here in North Carolina,” says Cavanaugh. “Her sister had gone out to check on guests at a vacation cabin, and “that’s the last I heard from her. I’ve been texting everybody I know, but nobody’s returned my call. All my phone calls go directly to voicemail.”.
