Nearly 70 people have been killed by Hurricane Helene, which left a trail of devastation and millions without power in a southeastern swath of the U.S.
Countless people remained stranded and seeking shelter amid early clean-up efforts following the powerful storm.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend area as a Category 4 storm late Thursday, with winds up to 140 mph (225 kph). It rapidly moved into Georgia, where Governor Brian Kemp described the scene on Saturday as looking "like a bomb went off," after observing shattered homes and debris-filled roads from above.
Helene weakened as it continued north, but nevertheless drenched the Carolinas and Tennessee with heavy rains, causing creeks and rivers to overflow and putting pressure on dams.
The National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, said Saturday the area is "devastated by the horrific flooding and widespread wind damage that was caused by Hurricane Helene," and has "no words" to express the amount of lives lost due to the storm. The agency called it "the worst event in our office's history," in a Facebook post Saturday evening.
More rain is forecasted this weekend for parts of the southern Appalachian region, reported CNN. Areas in western North Carolina, including Asheville, and eastern Tennessee, such as Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, could receive an additional inch.
Video of a house floating away and collapsing in Asheville as tropical storm Helene floods the area. pic.twitter.com/6HORGSg8cX
— ABC11 EyewitnessNews (@ABC11_WTVD) September 27, 2024
HURRICANE HELENE 🌀 Prayers for Tennessee & North Carolina
— Kristy Tallman (@KristyTallman) September 27, 2024
Video 1: Asheville, NC experiencing severe flooding. Video 2: Jonesboro, Tennessee also hit hard by floodwaters as the storm continues to wreak havoc.
I have family all through the area - worried to death haven't been… pic.twitter.com/f3Al4OlIKV
Up to two inches may fall in parts of Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania by Monday. The National Weather Service cautioned that while some rain amounts may be modest, regions that already experienced heavy rainfall from Helene might face significant localized issues with excessive runoff.
Thousands of utility workers arrived in Florida ahead of the hurricane, and by Saturday, power had been restored to over 1.9 million homes and businesses, the Associated Press reported. However, hundreds of thousands are still without electricity in Florida and Georgia.
Helene was the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which started on June 1. Governor Roy Cooper called Helene "one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina."
The western region of the state faced intense rains and strong winds approaching hurricane strength, resulting in life-threatening flash flooding, multiple landslides, and widespread power outages. As of Saturday, over 200 people had been rescued from floodwaters in North Carolina, according to the governor's update.
