() – Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern United States. The force of its winds and its deadly floods left behind a path of destruction that extended more than 800 km from Florida to the Southern Appalachians.
In just 48 hours, vast swaths of the region were left unrecognizable. The storm has caused at least 130 deaths, and authorities fear the number will increase as many people remain unaccounted for.
Communities were left isolated and stranded as floodwaters washed away hundreds of roads, buildings, homes and vehicles. Communication infrastructures are destroyed. Millions of people have also been left without electricity and access to water in at least six states.
According to preliminary reports from the National Meteorological Service, storm surges of up to 4.5 meters were recorded in the region.
In Tampa Bay, waters rose at least 1.8 meters, causing many vehicles and residences to be submerged.
In Pinellas County, Florida, just west of Tampa, rescue crews from the South Pasadena Fire Department and the county sheriff’s office waded through rising waters by boat, searching for trapped residents. In one video, rescuers are seen floating next to a flooded and burning house.
Farther north, in Cedar Key, the storm’s devastation was so widespread that city officials on Friday warned residents and volunteers not to return to the small coastal community. Many historic buildings and new homes were severely damaged by hurricane-force winds and flooding, while roads were blocked by downed wires and dangerous debris.
Flooding in the Big Bend region community of Steinhatchee is not uncommon, but when Helene made landfall, local residents say it caused the worst flooding they had ever seen. One resident, Jules Carl, told ‘s John Berman on Friday morning that she’s never had to worry too much about flooding at her home, but Helene came uncomfortably close.
“Right now I have a boat on the road in front of me and fish in our garden,” he said. “(The water) was coming up the steps of our patio. “It was very, very close to getting in.”
Some Steinhatchee homes even floated in the storm surge. Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby, who was weathering the hurricane at a nearby home, told that some homes “crashed into each other” as they were swept away.
The storm quickly made its way inland. Daylight revealed the magnitude of the destruction: flattened houses, flooded roads, overturned cars, downed trees and downed power lines.
Atlanta saw the highest 48-hour rainfall totals, quickly triggering life-threatening flooding. While Helene remained in the region, Augusta saw some of the heaviest rainfall in the state, totaling 12 to 14 inches, equivalent to about four months of rain in just two days. Extremely strong winds from the massive storm also battered much of the state.
Rescuers saved a woman from a sunken car in the city of Mableton, northwest of Atlanta, just after dawn on Friday. In Atlanta, authorities also rescued a family, including a woman carrying her baby, who was sheltering from rapidly rising waters on top of her car; one of many rescue missions of this type throughout the region.
Hundreds of roads remain closed and inaccessible due to fallen trees and scattered debris from shattered buildings.
The storm made its way through the Blue Ridge Mountains, continuing to devastate everything in its path.
Helene weakened to a tropical storm as it moved toward the Carolinas, but its fury remained unabated. Instead, it dropped a torrent of torrential rains on the mountain communities. Hundreds of road closures hampered rescue efforts for residents and prevented the delivery of urgently needed supplies.
The city of Asheville, in western North Carolina, was especially hard hit. Many residents took shelter on rooftops, although some collapsed into the waters. Houses floated away, and roads and bridges collapsed.
Helene turned the beloved city into a quagmire filled with floating debris and downed vehicles. Officials described it as “biblical devastation.”
Buncombe County Director Avril Pinder summed up the situation at a news conference Monday morning: “Don’t come.”
“We know you want to help, but please don’t come,” he said. “We don’t have water, and we don’t have electricity in the entire county, in most of the county. The roads are still incredibly dangerous, and we simply cannot accommodate people.”
Flooding from Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the western North Carolina town of Chimney Rock and the region surrounding Lake Lure. Charlotte Councilman Tariq Bokhari, who filmed the destruction, compared the storm to a “beater that swept away everything in its path.” He noted that it will take years to rebuild the area.
Further inland, Helene’s landscape-altering effects reached Tennessee. Heavy rain washed out part of Interstate 40, a major highway connecting North Carolina and Tennessee.
In the town of Afton, Tennessee, Helene washed out the Kinser Bridge on Highway 107, which is normally about 60 feet above the Nolichucky River. The bridge is also about 20 km northeast of the Nolichucky Dam, which authorities warned on Saturday was also in danger of collapsing.
In nearby Erwin, more than 50 patients and employees at Unicoi County Hospital did not have enough time to evacuate to safety. As the water rose, they took shelter on the roof, where strong winds made rescue difficult.
Fortunately, crews got them to safety Friday afternoon.
Parts of Virginia were also hit by Helene, leaving two dead from storm-related falling trees and building collapses, and hundreds of thousands of people without power.
Helene became a tropical depression at noon Friday. By Saturday, the storm had dissolved into remnants. However, the true extent of its devastation remains to be seen.
– Meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed to this report.
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