At least 43 dead as Hurricane Helene pummels south-east US leaving millions without power
28 September 2024, 08:40 | Updated: 28 September 2024, 08:46
At least 43 people have been killed and millions have been left without power after Hurricane Helene barrelled its way across the south-eastern US on Friday.
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Emergency crews continue their rescue efforts with boats, helicopters and large vehicles to help those trapped in flooded homes after Helene struck the coast of Florida on Thursday night as a highly destructive Category 4 storm with winds of 140mph.
It generated a massive storm surge, extending hundreds of miles north and leaving millions without power in Florida and neighbouring states.
It was the 14th most powerful storm to hit the US since records began and was the most powerful to hit Florida's Big Bend, before moving north into Georgia and the Carolinas.
Dozens of patients and staff were rescued by a police helicopter from the roof of a flooded Tennessee hospital following a "dangerous rescue operation".
Senator Bill Hagerty confirmed more than 50 people are now safe after becoming stranded on the Unicoi County Hospital.
A boat rescue was deemed too dangerous given the hospital was engulfed in "extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water", according to Tennessee's Ballad Health.
The police helicopter was ultimately able to land on the roof after the storm’s winds had prevented other helicopters from reaching the hospital.
Local official Michael Baker said the flooding was "unprecedented" and "we've never seen anything like this.”
Helene remained a hurricane for six hours after it made landfall, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), before being downgraded to a tropical depression early Friday afternoon.
It struck overnight with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) in the rural Big Bend area, the northwestern part of Florida.
The National Hurricane Center said preliminary information shows water levels reached more than 15ft above ground in that region.
At least eight people have died in Florida since Friday, including at least five people in the coastal Pinellas County, the county's sheriff, Bob Gualtieri said.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said one person died after a road sign fell on their car and another when a tree fell on a home. DeSantis described the damage as “demoralising”.
After hitting Florida, the storm continued north into Georgia - leaving at least 15 dead - including a first responder, Governor Brian Kemp said.
In South Carolina, at least 17 people were killed, according to CBS News. Neighbouring North Carolina saw at least two fatalities in the storm, one due to a vehicle collision and another when a tree fell on a home in Charlotte, Governor Roy Cooper said.
One person was also killed in Virginia, the state's governor, Glenn Youngkin, said at a news conference on Friday.
Across the southeast, more than three million homes and businesses were without power late Friday, according to tracking site poweroutage.us.
US President Joe Biden has approved emergency declaration requests from the governors of several southern states affected by Helene.
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina are being supported by emergency response personnel including search and rescue teams, medical support staff and engineering experts.
Prior to the hurricane making landfall, officials in Florida begged residents to evacuate. The sheriff's office in rural Taylor County issued a chilling warning to those who refused to leave.
"Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so that you can be identified and family notified," the post on Facebook said.
Forecasters now expect the storm to continue weakening across Tennessee and Kentucky.It is feared heavy rain over the Appalachian Mountains could cause mudslides and flash flooding.
