The death toll from Hurricane Helene climbed to at least 33 on Friday as the southeastern United States grappled with widespread flooding and destruction caused by the massive storm. After making landfall near Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, Helene wreaked havoc across multiple states, leaving millions without power and prompting large-scale rescue operations.
The storm, which began as a Category 4 hurricane with winds reaching 140 mph (225 kph), has weakened to a tropical depression but continues to batter states with life-threatening rain and winds. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of catastrophic flooding across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Some regions of the Appalachian Mountains were forecast to receive up to 20 inches of rain.
Widespread Damage and Rising Death Toll
South Carolina has been particularly hard-hit, with at least 14 deaths, including two firefighters, reported. In Aiken County, four fatalities occurred when trees crashed through roofs during the storm. Georgia has reported 11 deaths, including an emergency responder, while Florida, where the hurricane first made landfall, has recorded seven deaths. Governor Ron DeSantis described the damage as surpassing that of previous hurricanes Idalia and Debby, calling it a “gut-punch” to the affected communities.
In Perry, Florida, homes lost power, and a local gas station was flattened, leaving residents shaken. Larry Bailey, a resident who weathered the storm with his family, described the fear he felt as winds howled around his small wooden home: “It was real scary at one point… It’s like, was my house gonna get blown away or not?”
In Tennessee, dramatic rescue efforts unfolded as floodwaters trapped over 50 patients and staff on the roof of a hospital in the town of Erwin.
Historic Flooding and Rescue Operations
The Miami-based NHC called the flooding from Helene “historic and catastrophic,” with flash floods threatening major cities like Atlanta. In the hardest-hit areas, homes and businesses were submerged, and entire neighborhoods were inundated.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp noted that in Valdosta, over 115 buildings were heavily damaged, and multiple people were trapped inside. Across the southeastern region, five million homes and businesses remained without power.
Hundreds of search and rescue missions were conducted, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head Deanne Criswell reported that over 600 rescues had been completed, with more underway.
Climate Concerns and Global Storm Activity
Hurricane Helene is part of an ongoing trend of extreme weather events worldwide, with September seeing typhoon Yagi battering Asia, storm Boris hitting Europe, and severe flooding in Africa’s Sahel region.
Scientists attribute the increasing severity of storms like Helene to human-caused climate change. Andra Garner, a climate scientist, emphasized that the storm’s rapid intensification was likely fueled by abnormally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. “Storm surges are getting worse,” she noted, “because our sea levels are rising as we warm the planet.”
Search and rescue volunteer Curtis Drafton echoed these concerns, wondering if such devastating storms would become the “new normal” as communities face back-to-back once-in-a-lifetime events.
As rescue operations continue and floodwaters recede, residents across the southeastern U.S. are left grappling with the storm’s aftermath and the long road to recovery.