ATLANTA, Sept 28 (Askume) – Authorities across much of the southeastern United States faced the daunting task on Saturday of dealing with Hurricane Helene, one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the country, as the death toll continued to rise.
As of Friday evening, at least 43 people were reported dead and authorities feared more bodies could be found in several states.
Helen, classified as a post-tropical cyclone, brought heavy rains to several states late Friday, causing life-threatening floods that threatened to overflow dams and inundate entire cities.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, Florida, near Tampa, said he had never seen the kind of damage that Helene suffered. “After spending the last few hours there, I would describe it as a war zone,” Gualtieri said at a news conference.
At least 3.5 million customers across five states are without power, and officials have warned it could take several days to fully restore service.
Scientists say climate change is causing stronger and more destructive hurricanes.
Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (225 kph) before moving north through Georgia toward Tennessee and the Carolinas. It left a chaotic scene: boats overturned in harbor, trees toppled, cars submerged and streets flooded.
Police and firefighters rescued thousands of people from water in the affected states on Friday.
More than 50 people were rescued from the roof of a hospital in Unicoi County, Tennessee, a rural community about 120 miles (200 kilometers) northeast of Knoxville that was inundated by flooding, state officials said.
The Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said on social media that ambulances and emergency vehicles were unable to evacuate patients and others due to rising water levels in the Nolichucky River. Emergency teams were conducting rescue operations by boat and helicopter.
In Tennessee, Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis ordered the evacuation of the city of Newport due to the possible failure of the nearby Walters Dam.
In western North Carolina, Rutherford County emergency officials warned residents near the Lake Lure Dam that the dam could burst, though they said late Friday that there was no danger of the dam breaking.
Landslides in nearby Buncombe County forced the closure of Interstates 40 and 26, the county said Friday.
wake up from adversity
Reports of damage in Florida began coming in after Friday morning.
The National Weather Service said Friday that an 8- to 10-foot (2.4-3 meter) storm surge — a wall of ocean water pushed ashore by wind — shook mobile homes in coastal Stanhatchie. On Treasure Island, a barrier island community in Pinellas County, boats got stuck in front yards.
The city of Tampa tweeted that emergency crews had rescued 78 residents from the water and that flooding had left several roads impassable. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office rescued more than 65 people.
Officials urged residents living in Helene’s path to heed evacuation orders, and National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan called the storm surge “unrelenting”.
Pinellas County Sheriff Gualtieri said the situation prevented first responders from responding to many emergency calls. County authorities found at least five people dead on Friday.
Two more people were killed in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s office reported 15 storm-related deaths in the state, while North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said there were two deaths in the state.
At least 19 people were killed in the storm in South Carolina, the Charleston-based Post and Courier newspaper said, citing local officials.
