Hurricane Helene leaves at least 64 dead, millions without power in United States | PHOTOS

Perry: Massive rains from Hurricane Helene left many people stranded and in need of rescue on Saturday, following a storm that claimed at least 64 lives and caused severe destruction across the southeastern United States. Millions were left without power as cleanup efforts began.

“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 neighbours, many of whom couldn't get insurance on their homes.

Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm, with winds reaching 140 mph (225 kph). It quickly moved through Georgia, where Governor Brian Kemp described the scene as looking “like a bomb went off,” with splintered homes and debris-covered highways.

After weakening, Helene continued to pour heavy rain on the Carolinas and Tennessee, leading to swollen creeks and rivers and putting pressure on dams. In western North Carolina, landslides and flooding closed Interstate 40 and other roads, isolating some areas. This caused delays for the East Tennessee State University football team, whose journey to Charleston, South Carolina, took 16 hours.

Rescue operations were extensive, with hundreds of water rescues reported. In Unicoi County, East Tennessee, dozens of patients and staff were airlifted from a hospital rooftop. Rescues continued into Saturday in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where parts of Asheville were flooded. “To say this caught us off guard would be an understatement,” said Quentin Miller, the county sheriff.

Local resident Mario Moraga expressed sadness over the destruction in the Biltmore Village neighbourhood, noting that neighbours were checking on each other and offering support. “There's no cell service here. There's no electricity,” he said. While there have been fatalities in the area, Emergency Services Director Van Taylor Jones was cautious about releasing details due to difficulties in contacting families caused by downed cell towers.

Desperate pleas for help filled social media, with Francine Cavanaugh in Atlanta waiting for news about her sister, who had gone to check on guests at a cabin as the storm approached Asheville. Since then, Cavanaugh has been unable to reach her. “I think that people are just completely stuck,” she said.

The storm has now weakened to a post-tropical cyclone and is expected to linger over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Catastrophic flooding

North Carolina experienced the worst flooding in a century, with Governor Roy Cooper labelling it “catastrophic.” Search and rescue teams from 19 states and the federal government have been deployed to assist. In Spruce Pine, over 2 feet (0.6 metres) of rain fell from Tuesday to Saturday.

Atlanta also saw massive rainfall, with 11.12 inches (28.24 centimetres) recorded over 48 hours—the highest amount for the city since records began in 1878.

President Joe Biden described the devastation from Helene as “overwhelming” and pledged federal assistance. He approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funds available for those affected.

With at least 25 fatalities reported in South Carolina, Helene is the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Deaths have also occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Economic assessments estimate property damage between $15 billion and $26 billion, with AccuWeather predicting total damage and economic losses from Helene could reach between $95 billion and $110 billion. Experts note that climate change is worsening conditions that allow storms to strengthen rapidly in warming waters.

Agency