() – Helene continues to unleash its fury across the Southeast after leaving 49 dead in several states, devastating communities and leaving many stranded in flood waters after the historic storm made landfall in the Big Bend region, The curve that connects the north coast with the Florida peninsula this Thursday night as a monstrous category 4 hurricane with roaring winds of 225 km / h. These are the latest news:
-Deaths in 5 states: Storm-related deaths were reported in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. At least 19 people died in South Carolina, including two firefighters who died in Saluda County and two residents who died from fallen trees in Anderson County, according to state officials. In Georgia, at least 15 people died, two of them from a tornado in Alamo, according to a spokesman for Gov. Brian Kemp. Florida authorities reported eight deaths, including several people who drowned in Pinellas County, near Tampa. Six more deaths were reported in North Carolina, including a car crash on a storm-slick road that left a 4-year-old girl dead in Claremont and a falling tree that left a person dead in their home. Charlotte’s house. And in Craig County, Virginia, one person died in a storm related to a falling tree and building collapse, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Friday.
– Storm rescue missions underway: Nearly 4,000 National Guardsmen were carrying out rescue efforts in 21 Florida counties, the Department of Defense said Friday. North Carolina has activated 358 guards, while Georgia has more than 300 and Alabama 43, said Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary. Additionally, the Biden administration has mobilized more than 1,500 federal troops to support communities affected by Helene, Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday.
– Severe flooding in North Carolina: Helene “is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. Western parts of the state were hit by heavy rain and hurricane-force winds, causing life-threatening flash floods, numerous landslides and power outages. More than 100 people were rescued from high water, the governor said. From Wednesday morning to Friday morning, more than 2 feet of rain fell in the mountainous region of the state, with Busick recording a total of 30 inches in just 48 hours. In the city of Asheville, greatly affected by the rains, a curfew was declared throughout the city until 7:30 in the morning this Saturday, according to the municipal government. About 20 miles southwest of Asheville, overwhelming, torrential rains were pushing the Lake Lure Dam toward “imminent failure,” according to the National Weather Service.
– The threat did not end: The remnants of Helene will continue to cause rain and gusty winds for hundreds of kilometers to the East. Multiple states recorded more than a foot of rain, with at least 14 different flash flood emergencies issued for approximately 1.1 million people in the southern Appalachians of western North Carolina and adjacent parts of Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. In addition to the precipitation, winds continued to gust between 30 and 50 mph in the Ohio Valley and Tennessee regions Friday night, and more than 35 million people were under a wind advisory heading into Saturday.
– More than 3 million people without electricity: The remains of Helene continued to knock out power to several eastern US states on Saturday morning, with approximately 3,429,137 customers in the dark in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, according to PowerOutage. us.
-Helene disrupts travel and delivery services: Helene caused numerous disruptions to travel and delivery services. Several Amtrak trains arriving or leaving Florida and Georgia were canceled, the company said. Delivery services were also affected, with UPS announcing it suspended service in Florida, North Carolina and Georgia because of the storm. FedEx also suspended or limited its service in five states. Water flooded countless roads across the region, making them impassable. In North Carolina, 290 highways were closed statewide, and Gov. Roy Cooper said the state Department of Transportation is closing even more highways as severe flooding, mudslides and washed out roads pose serious threats to public safety.
– Dozens of people rescued from the roof of a hospital in Tennessee: More than 50 people stranded on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, were rescued after Helene’s rapidly rising waters made evacuation impossible Friday morning, Ballad Health said.
– Helene is now a post-tropical cyclone: Helene – the strongest hurricane on record to hit Florida’s Big Bend region – is now a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 35 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. This means that Helene no longer has an organized circulation center and is losing its hurricane characteristics. But this change in designation does not much alter Helene’s overall threat in the future, as Helene will continue to unleash heavy torrential rains and gusty winds. Keith Turi, acting director of response and recovery for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned residents of the dangers that remain from Helene, even after it passes. “There are a number of reasons why people think that when the storm passes, the dangers will decrease. It’s not necessarily true,” Turi told . “There are many dangers in those waters, things you can see and sometimes things you can’t see that are under the surface, so you have to stay away from those waters. Make sure you get to a safe place.”
Helene left a massive trail of destruction across Florida, Georgia and the southeastern US, uprooting trees and power lines and destroying hundreds of homes. Millions of people were left without power and nowhere to shelter from the devastating storm, so rescue teams sprang into action to save people trapped in the rubble or underwater.
In Cedar Key, Florida, the devastation is so widespread that it is not safe enough to allow residents or volunteers back into the small community off the Florida coast, city officials said Friday. The city has no sewer, water or electricity, “so there’s not much chance of keeping people here,” said Cedar Key Mayor Sue Colson.
Dozens of historic buildings and new homes were decimated, while roads were blocked by downed wires and “extremely dangerous” debris, the mayor said. “It’s a multifaceted mess,” Colson said.
Aerial images show damage caused by Helene in Cedar Key and Steinhatchee, Florida
Another small, tight-knit Florida community, Keaton Beach, is picking up the pieces of their lives left behind by Helene’s ravages.
“If you look at Keaton Beach, I think almost all the houses were destroyed, or the vast majority, and some completely destroyed. It’s because they had such a massive surge that came in there,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday, adding that the storm surge could have been as high as 20 feet.
The city’s Beach Bums gas station was three days away from celebrating the fifth anniversary of its opening when it collapsed, said owner Jared Hunt, who spent the morning helping residents search for personal belongings, salvaging what remains.
A Keaton Beach resident stood with his wife in front of the remains of what used to be their home, wondering where he would go next.
“I have lost my house. I have nowhere to go,” Eric Church told . “My house is piled up here. It was right there. Only pillars remain on the ground. I have a wife and two dogs with me. What am I supposed to do?”
Church’s wife, Erin Peelar, said the couple had just bought the house and were expecting some water from the hurricane, not for the house to “disappear.”
“The house has been here for 75 years and that’s the reason we bought it six months ago, having faith that it would be here another 75,” Peelar said.
At the end of the day, however, Peelar said the family was lucky.
“Lucky we didn’t stay because no one would have survived this. There were six, seven, eight houses in front of us; “They have all disappeared,” he said.
In the ocean off Sanibel Island, Florida, US Coast Guard swimmer Ted Hudson rescued a man and his dog from their houseboat during the hurricane when dangerous waves threatened their lives.
Footage of the dramatic rescue, captured by Hudson’s helmet camera, shows the swimmer being hoisted from a helicopter and struggling to stay still amid 100km/h winds until he enters the water. Then swim through terrifying waves to reach the stranded man and his dog. They enter the water and swim towards Hudson, who helps them into the helicopter.
“I think my adrenaline kicked in and I got going,” Hudson told . “It was a dangerous situation to be in, and I was trying to get out of there as quickly as possible.”
DeSantis said he believes Hurricane Helene inflicted more damage than Hurricane Idalia in 2023, which at the time was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region in more than 125 years.
Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, this Thursday night as a Category 4 with sustained winds of 225 km/h and higher gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center. By comparison, Hurricane Idalia in August 2023 made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 200 km/h.
In Georgia, several people were trapped after at least 115 structures in the southern city of Valdosta, in Lowndes County, were severely damaged by Helene, Governor Brian Kemp said Friday.
“The damage to our community is substantial and appears much worse than Hurricane Idalia,” Lowndes County Emergency Management said on its Facebook page.
‘s Emma Tucker, Elise Hammond, Ashley R. Williams, Taylor Ward, Taylor Romine, Mary Gilbert, Brandon Miller, Alaa Elassar, Nicole Chavez, Josh Replogle and Andy Rose contributed to this report.
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