Written by Rich McKay, Joseph Ax, and Andrew Hay
ATLANTA (Reuters) – Authorities across a wide swath of the southeastern United States on Saturday faced the daunting task of clearing the area of Hurricane Helen, one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the country, as the death toll continued to rise.
At least 43 deaths had been reported as of late Friday, and officials feared more bodies could be discovered in several states.
Hurricane Helen, which late Friday weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, continued to dump heavy rains on several states, bringing life-threatening flooding and threatening dam failures that could submerge entire towns.
In Pinellas County, Florida, near Tampa, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said he had never seen devastation like that caused by Helen. “I would just describe it, after spending the last few hours there, as a war zone,” Gualtieri said at a news conference.
At least 3.5 million customers remained without power in five states, with authorities warning that it could take several days before services are fully restored.
Scientists say climate change is contributing to stronger and more destructive hurricanes.
Before heading north through Georgia into Tennessee and the Carolinas, Helen struck Florida’s Big Bend area as a powerful Category 4 hurricane Thursday evening, packing winds of 225 kilometers per hour. It left behind a chaotic scene of capsized boats in harbors, downed trees, submerged cars and flooded streets.
Police and firefighters carried out thousands of water rescue operations across the affected states on Friday.
More than 50 people were rescued from the roof of a hospital in Unicoi County, Tennessee, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) northeast of Knoxville, after floodwaters inundated the rural community, state officials said.
The Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said on social media that rising water levels in the Nolichaki River prevented ambulances and emergency vehicles from evacuating patients and others from there. Emergency crews in boats and helicopters are carrying out rescue operations.
Elsewhere in Tennessee, Cook County Sheriff Rob Mathis ordered the evacuation of downtown Newport due to a possible failure of the nearby Walters Dam.
In western North Carolina, emergency officials in Rutherford County warned residents near the Lake Lure dam that it could collapse, though they said late Friday that failure did not appear imminent.
In nearby Buncombe County, landslides forced Interstates 40 and 26 to close, the county said.
Waking up to disaster
The extent of the damage in Florida began to become apparent after dawn on Friday.
In the coastal area of Steinhatchee, a storm surge — a wall of seawater pushed ashore by the wind — 2.4 to 3 meters high moved the mobile homes, the National Weather Service said. On Treasure Island, a barrier island in Pinellas County, boats were anchored in front yards.
The City of Tampa posted on X that emergency personnel completed 78 water rescues for residents and that several roads were rendered inoperable due to flooding. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office rescued more than 65 people.
Officials appealed to residents on Helen Road to heed evacuation orders, and National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan described the storm surge as “unsurvivable.”
Conditions prevented first responders from responding to many emergency calls, Pinellas County Sheriff Gualtieri said. On Friday, provincial authorities found at least five dead.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said two more people died in Florida. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s office announced that 15 people had been killed due to storms in that state, while North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said that two people had died there.
The Charleston-based Post and Courier newspaper, citing local officials, reported that at least 19 people died during the storm in South Carolina.
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