In the southern Appalachians a weakened Helene floods
Northeastern Carolina had a record-breaking two days of floods and the Luma lake’s dam is intact, according to an update on social media
In western North Carolina, there have been rains that have created a number of landslide conditions. The National Weather Prediction Center has forecast 6 to 12 inches for the region, well above the landslide condition threshold for the area.
The storm dumped more than 8 inches of rain in Wilmington and wrought serious damage to coastal homes and small buildings, as well as agricultural fields.
The totals for Friday afternoon in North Carolina were staggering: 29.58 inches for Busick, 24.20 for Mount Mitchell State Park, and 13 inches in the city of Boone.
Atlanta received its highest two days of rain on record over the past two days. The Georgia Climate Office tweeted on Friday that the area has already seen 11.12 inches of rain, beating a previous record of 9.59 set in 1886. In 1878 record keeping began.
In North Carolina, Helene produced unusually heavy winds — up to 140 mph — on land, the strongest observed in coastal North Carolina since the start of modern meteorological recordkeeping in the 19th century.
In Georgia, the death toll was 15, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp. CBS station 13WMAZ reported at least two children were dead. Two Georgians died in Wheeler County after their trailer was picked up by a tornado, an emergency management official said.
At least 52 people were killed in five states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, the Associated Press reported. The dead included a mother and her baby, as well as three firefighters and an older woman who was struck by a tree.
In Tennessee, over 50 patients and staff were stuck on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, as floodwaters rose on Friday morning. They were eventually rescued by the afternoon.
The National Weather Service issued an urgent warning through Friday afternoon, urging anyone below the Lake Lure Dam to leave immediately because of concerns that the dam could fail.
In flash flooding events like this one, dam failures are expected, according to a brigadier general with the Army Corps of Engineers. He said at a press conference that it is not uncommon to see a dam failure. I would be surprised if there weren’t many dam failures around this area.
As of Friday evening, the dam remained intact. According to an update on social media, the lake’s water levels were beginning to diminish.
A Category 4 Tropical Storm with Maximum sustained Winds of 140 mph on the Gulf Coast of Florida, as Monitored by the National Weather Service
More than 4 million homes and businesses were without power on Friday afternoon in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to poweroutage.us. By nightfall, that number had dipped to about 3.7 million.
For those relying on generators for power supply, the consumer safety officials advised people to keep them at least 20 feet away from the home to avoid deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. More deaths were associated with 2020’s Hurricane Laura as a result of improper portable generator use.
The surge reached more than 5 feet on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Andrew Swan, 31, rode out the storm in Madeira Beach, Fla., watching over a friend’s house. The water rushed into the house up to his chest and he had to sleep on the kitchen counter with his legs over the stove.
While the worst of the storm is over for many in the Southeast, officials are warning residents to stay vigilant in its aftermath amid hazardous conditions, such as flooded and debris-strewn roads.
The storm surge was 15 feet above ground in the BigBend area near Steinhatchee and Horseshoe Beach, according to the National Weather Service.
In an evening update from the National Hurricane Center, maximum sustained winds were moving at 25 mph. The storm made landfall Thursday night in Florida’s BigBend region, making it a Category 4 Hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
“The expected slow motion could result in significant flooding over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, and over the southern Appalachians through the weekend,” the center said in a late morning update.
Life-threatening flooding and landslides in parts of southern Appalachia were expected to continue into the evening, the National Hurricane Center said.
Helene weakened to a post-tropical cyclone on Friday evening but continued to unleash “catastrophic” flooding in the southeastern U.S. and southern Appalachians, forecasters said.
The impact of hurricane-induced damage on homes and businesses in the South and the United States: NPR’s Andrew Swan, the director of the Florida Department of Natural Resources, tells ABC News
Brad Johnson, a professor at Davidson College who studies erosion and landslide susceptibility, told NPR member station WUNC that debris flows are the most significant concern around here.
“I mean everybody is just kind of in shock and just trying to pick up the pieces. I mean nobody really expected it like this,” Swan said. Swan said he slept on a kitchen counter with his legs draped over the stove as the waters rose.
Rescue operations continued and beaches along the coast in Florida were off limits. Some residents ignored restrictions and were talked to by a reporter from NPR. Andrew Swan, who lives in a house near the beach, told Colombini he rode out the storm alone, with waters rising up to his chest.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, was given the authority to give emergency response assistance after the White House approved emergency declaration requests from governors in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. 1,500 federal disaster response personnel were deployed to the region.
Moody’s Analytics said Friday it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage from the hurricane, which by late Friday had been downgraded to a tropical storm.
More than 3 million people were without power in the South and the United States, as rescue teams scrambled to respond to the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.