A weakened Helen leads to ‘catastrophic’ flooding as it crosses the southern Appalachians: NPR

Flooding surrounds a home after Hurricane Helene on Friday in Crystal River, Florida.

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Helene weakened into a post-tropical cyclone Friday evening but continued to trigger “catastrophic” flooding across the southeastern U.S. and southern Appalachians, forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center said life-threatening flooding and landslides would continue into the evening in parts of the southern Appalachians.

Gusty winds were still whipping across parts of Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Forecasters said Helene was expected to slow and then stall over the Tennessee Valley late Friday.

“The expected slow motion could result in significant flooding over the Ohio and Tennessee valleys as well as the southern Appalachians by the weekend,” the center said in a late morning update.

In an evening update from the National Hurricane Center, maximum sustained winds were 25 miles per hour. The storm made landfall Thursday evening as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour in Florida’s Big Bend region – the junction of the panhandle and peninsula in the northwest part of the state.

Preliminary modeling after landfall showed the storm surge reached 15 feet above ground level in the Big Bend area near Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee and Horseshoe Beach, the National Weather Service said.

Flooding concerns have shifted to western North Carolina, where up to 27 centimeters of rain was expected.

The death toll in five states reaches 44 people

At least 44 people in five states have died as a result of the storm, the Associated Press reported. As rescue workers comb through the rubble, officials in several states said they expected a rise in the number of storm-related deaths.

While the worst of the storm has passed for many in the Southeast, authorities are warning residents to remain vigilant amid dangerous conditions such as flooded and debris-strewn roads.

Storm surge reached more than 5 feet along Florida’s Gulf Coast Thursday evening. Andrew Swan, 31, weathered the storm in Madeira Beach, Florida, watching over a friend’s house. He told WUSF that the water came up to his chest in the house and he spent the night sleeping on a kitchen counter with his legs over the stove.

West of Tampa, officials in Pinellas County described the wreck sites there as a “war zone.”

The sheriff’s office said five Florida residents died in the county and at least two drowned.

The strong winds and tornadoes were also blamed for several deaths. Gov. Ron DeSantis said one person died from a falling sign on a highway in Tampa. Another person died after a tree fell on their home in Dixie County.

A fallen tree was seen on Margret Mitchell Drive in the Buckhead area of ​​Atlanta on Friday.

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Most of the deaths occurred in Georgia and the Carolinas, some of which were due to falling trees.

In South Carolina, 19 people died, including two firefighters who died when a tree hit their truck, local officials told the AP.

In Georgia, the death toll was 15, according to a spokesman for Governor Brian Kemp. At least two children were among the dead, local CBS station 13WMAZ reported. Two Georgians died in Wheeler County after their mobile home was struck by a tornado, an emergency management official said.

In North Carolina, Helene produced unusually strong winds – up to 140 miles per hour – on land, the strongest observed on the North Carolina coast since modern meteorological records began in the 19th century.

Gov. Roy Cooper confirmed

Four people were in critical condition

Virginia had one storm-related death after a tree fell and a building collapsed in Craig County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.

Record-breaking rainfall in the southern Appalachians

Heavy rains from Helene set a record in Atlanta, which recorded its highest 48-hour rainfall on record over the past two days. The Georgia Climate Office tweeted Friday that 11.12 inches of rain had already fallen in the area, surpassing the previous record of 9.59 set in 1886. Records began in 1878.

In North Carolina, rainfall totals Friday afternoon were staggering: 29.58 inches for Busick, NC; 24.20 for nearby Mount Mitchell State Park; about 13 inches in Boone, about 55 miles away.

The storm dumped more than 8 inches of rain in Wilmington, causing severe damage to coastal homes and small buildings as well as agricultural fields.

Along with flooding, persistent rains have caused landslides in western North Carolina, member station WFAE reported. The National Weather Prediction Center has forecast 6 to 12 inches for the region, well above the landslide threshold for the area.

In Tennessee, more than 50 patients and staff were stranded on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin as floodwaters increased Friday morning. They were finally rescued in the afternoon.

Heavy rains flood western North Carolina

Rising lakes and rivers and flooding from heavy rains led officials to close all roads in western North Carolina on Friday.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation warned motorists to stay off the roads except in emergencies or when attempting to evacuate to higher ground.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued an urgent warning through Friday afternoon asking anyone below Lake Lure Dam near Ashville to immediately evacuate to higher ground following fears that the nearly century-old dam could fail.

Brigadier General Daniel Hibner of the Army Corps of Engineers said dam failures are to be expected in flash floods like this. “It is not unusual for a dam to break during an event like this,” he said at a news conference. “I would be surprised if there weren’t several dam failures in this area.”

Nevertheless, the dam remained intact on Friday evening. In an update at 6 p.m. ET on social media, Rutherford County officials said the lake’s water levels were beginning to decline.

Lake Lure is famous for being the backdrop for several scenes in the 1987 film Dirty dancing.

Helene took power away from millions of people

More than 4 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina as of Friday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. By nightfall, that number had dropped to about 3.7 million.

Meanwhile, the NHC warned of the possibility of prolonged power outages in southeastern states.

For those who rely on generators for power, consumer safety regulators advise placing them at least 20 feet from the home to avoid deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. Improper use of portable generators associated with Hurricane Laura in 2020 resulted in more deaths than the storm itself.