Death toll from Hurricane Helene surpasses 50 as millions without power
US state of Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis says the damage from Helene exceeded that of hurricanes Idalia and Debby, which both hit the same Big Bend region.
Residents arrive to their flooded home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, September 27, 2024, in Crystal River, Fla. / Photo: AP
At least 52 people have died across five US states battered by powerful storm Helene, authorities said, after torrential flooding prompted emergency responders to launch massive rescue operations.
Roads, homes and businesses were underwater –– many of them destroyed –– after Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near the Florida state capital Tallahassee overnight and surged north.
As darkness settled over the region Friday, more than 4.2 million customers were without power across 10 states, from Florida up to Ohio, according to tracker poweroutage.us.
And while Helene weakened to a tropical storm and eventually a post-tropical cyclone, it has continued to wreak havoc with heavy rains that the National Hurricane Center said would result in "catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding."
In Cedar Key, an island city of 700 people just off Florida's northwest coast, the full destructive force of the hurricane was on view.
Several pastel-coloured wooden homes were completely destroyed, victims of storm surges and ferocious winds.
"I've lived here my whole life, and it breaks my heart to see it," said Gabe Doty, superintendent of Cedar Key's water and sewer district. "We've not really been able to catch a break around here."
Up to 30 centimetres of rain was forecast in the Appalachian mountains, with isolated spots even receiving over 50 centimetres.
Storm 'not over'
In Perry, near where Helene slammed ashore bearing winds of 225 kilometres per hour, houses lost power and the gas station was flattened.
"I am Floridian, so I'm kind of used to it, but it was real scary at one point," said Larry Bailey, 32, who sheltered in his small wooden home all night with his two nephews and sister.
Four hundred miles to the north in the Tennessee town of Erwin, a dramatic rescue operation unfolded, as more than 50 patients and staff were trapped on a hospital roof as floodwaters raged around them, local television footage showed.
Helicopters were deployed in the rescue.
In neighbouring Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin warned in a video message: "This storm is not over."
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