At least 43 dead as Hélène traces destructive path across southeastern United States

Category 4 hurricane leaves landscape of chaosDozens dead in four statesFlorida, Georgia suffer power outagesATLANTA, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Tropical depression Helene caused life-threatening flooding across large areas of the South on Friday eastern United States, where at least 43 people were killed by a storm that flooded neighborhoods, triggered mudslides, threatened dams and left more than 3.5 million homes and businesses without power.

Before moving north through Georgia and Tennessee and the Carolinas, Helene hit Florida's Big Bend region as a powerful Category 4 hurricane Thursday evening, packing winds of 140 mph (225 km/h). . It left behind a chaotic landscape of overturned boats in ports, downed trees, submerged cars and flooded streets.

By early Friday afternoon, the storm had been downgraded to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h), the National Hurricane Center said.

But Helen's heavy rains were still causing catastrophic flooding in many areas, with police and firefighters carrying out thousands of water rescues across all affected states.

More than 50 people were rescued from the roof of a hospital in Unicoi County, Tennessee, about 125 miles (200 km) northeast of Knoxville, state officials said, after floodwaters flooded the rural community.

Rising waters in the Nolichucky River were preventing ambulances and emergency vehicles from evacuating patients and others, the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said on social media. Emergency teams on boats and helicopters were carrying out rescues.

Elsewhere in Tennessee, Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis ordered the evacuation of downtown Newport due to a potential dam failure nearby. Mathis initially said Walters Dam had suffered a “catastrophic failure” but later said the dam “had been breached” but there had not yet been a major failure.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency wrote on social media that Walters Dam, located just across the state line in North Carolina, had not failed. The agency said the information came from Duke Energy, which operates the dam.

Madison McDonald, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, said, “We are aware of the situation and are sorting out the facts.”

In western North Carolina, Rutherford County emergency officials warned residents near Lake Lure Dam to immediately evacuate to higher ground, saying “dam failure is imminent.” “.

But around 8 p.m. (0000 GMT), county emergency officials said engineers had assessed the dam “and determined that it no longer presents an imminent risk of failure.”

In neighboring Buncombe County, landslides forced the closure of Highways 40 and 26, the county reported on X.

Flood levels above 9 feet are possible along Florida's west coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The extent of the damage in Florida began to be felt after dawn Friday.

Item 1 of 15 A person looks at the flooded area following Hurricane Helene in Steinhatchee, Florida on September 27. REUTERS/Marco Bello

[1/15]A person looks at the flooded area following Hurricane Helene in Steinhatchee, Florida, September 27. REUTERS/Marco Bello Purchase of license rights, opens a new tab

On the coast of Steinhatchee, Florida, a storm surge — the wall of seawater pushed toward shore by winds — of eight to ten feet (2.4 to 3 meters) displaced mobile homes, said the National Weather Service on X. At Treasure Island, a barrier island community in Pinellas County, boats were stranded in front of yards.

The city of Tampa posted on X that emergency personnel had performed 78 water rescues of residents and that many roads were impassable due to flooding. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office rescued more than 65 people overnight.

Authorities had pleaded with residents in Helen's path to heed evacuation orders, with National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan calling the storm surge “insurmountable.”

Some residents remained there.

Ken Wood, 58, a ferry operator in Pinellas County, said he should have heeded evacuation orders rather than ride out the storm at home with his 16-year-old cat, Andy.

“I’ll never do that again, I swear,” Wood said. “It was a harrowing experience. It roared all night like a train. It was unnerving. The house shook.”

Down the hill, the storm flooded some homes with salt water up to their chests. A house caught fire and burned, sending flames 30 feet into the stormy sky, he said.

“Old Andy didn’t seem to care,” Wood said. “He did well. But next time we'll leave.”

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said first responders were unable to respond to several emergency calls from residents overnight due to the conditions. On Friday, county authorities reported at least five deaths.

Two more people have died in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's office reported 15 storm-related deaths in that state, while North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said there were two deaths.

At least 19 people died in the storm that hit South Carolina, the Charleston-based Post and Courier newspaper reported, citing local officials.

Flood levels above 9 feet are possible along Florida's west coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. Over the next five days, cumulative precipitation of up to 10 inches is possible in parts of the southeastern United States.

Helene was unusually large for a Gulf hurricane, forecasters said, although a storm's size is not the same as its strength, which is based on maximum sustained wind speeds.

Hours before landfall, Tropical Storm Helene's winds extended 500 km, according to the National Hurricane Center. For comparison, Idalia, a major hurricane that struck Florida's Big Bend region last year, had tropical storm winds extending 160 miles (260 km) about eight hours before landfall.

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Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago, Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico, Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado, Swati Verma and Rahul Paswan in Bangalore; Written by Joseph Axe, Brad Brooks and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Richard Chang, Bill Berkrot and William Mallard

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