Hurricane Helen Leaves Trail of Destruction Across Southeastern US

At least 20 people have been killed and over 4 million homes and businesses left without power as Hurricane Helen tore through Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

Helen made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, bringing with it winds of 145 mph and causing widespread destruction. The storm has since weakened to a tropical storm, but not before leaving a trail of chaos in its wake.

Police and firefighters have conducted thousands of water rescues in affected states, including in Atlanta, where an apartment complex had to be evacuated due to flooding. Emergency officials in Rutherford County, North Carolina, have warned residents near the Lake Lure Dam to evacuate immediately to higher ground due to concerns about the dam’s structural integrity.

The City of Tampa has reported 78 water rescues, with many roads remaining impassable due to flooding. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has rescued over 65 people overnight, and the US Coast Guard has rescued nine people from the stormy waters.

Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee, and St. Petersburg have suspended operations, and hundreds of flights to and from Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta have been delayed or canceled. Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s director of emergency management, has urged residents in affected areas to stay off the roads and allow search and rescue personnel to do their job.

The National Hurricane Center has warned of flood levels in excess of 9 feet along Florida’s west coast, with cumulative rainfall of up to 10 inches possible in parts of the southeastern United States over the next five days. Over 4 million homes and businesses are without power, with tens of thousands facing outages in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Preliminary estimates suggest that private insurance losses could reach billion to $6 billion, with additional losses for federal insurance programs approaching $1 billion.