Hurricane Helene death toll rises as impact assessment begins: NPR

David Hester examines the damage to his home after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, on Saturday.

Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Hide caption

Toggle label

Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Rescue teams across the southeastern United States and the southern Appalachians struggled to respond to the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene 3 million households and businesses were without power on Saturday due to the ongoing risk of flooding.

Moody’s Analytics said Friday that $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage is expected from the hurricane, which was downgraded to a tropical storm late Friday.

At least 52 people were killed in five states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, according to the Associated Press. The dead included three firefighters, a mother and her one-month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman who was hit by a tree that hit her home.

The White House said this was the case approved Emergency declaration requests from the governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide emergency assistance. In addition, around 1,500 federal disaster relief personnel were deployed to the region.

In Florida, beaches along the coast near Tampa remained closed while rescue and recovery efforts continued. NPR member station WUSF Reporter Stephanie Colombini spoke with some residents who ignored the restrictions. Andrew Swan, who lives in a house near the beach, told Colombini that he weathered the storm alone, with water up to his chest.

“I mean, everyone is kind of in shock and just trying to pick up the pieces. I mean, nobody really expected it,” Swan said. As the water rose, Swan said he was sleeping on a kitchen counter with his legs over his stove.

A barn and Christmas trees were seen in high water in Ashe County near West Jefferson, N.C., on Friday.

Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Hide caption

Toggle label

Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

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.

Experts said they were most concerned about the impending debris flow.

“The biggest concern here for me is debris flows, which are very wet, move very quickly and can travel long distances,” said Brad Johnson, who researches landslides and erosion at Davidson College NPR member station WUNC.

Johnson added that debris flows can travel more than a mile, carrying rocks, trees and other hazards along the way.

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.