Maps track Hurricane Helene's 800-mile path of destruction across southeastern US
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the state with the highest number of reported fatalities.
Hurricane Helene, which left massive destruction along the Florida coast since making landfall Thursday, is now causing historic flooding, wide-ranging power outages, and other damage in an 800-mile northward path that's affecting the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, and other states.
More than 220 deaths have been attributed to the Category 4 hurricane in the southeast U.S. More than 2 million homes and businesses are without power.
In North Carolina, high water from excessive rainfall inundated Asheville and other cities, trapping residents in their homes without lights and food. Flooded roads are making it difficult for rescue workers to reach them, Paste BN reported.
Paste BN has tracked Helene's path of devastation through the southern U.S. Here is what we found:
Helene landed in Florida and moved north
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Heavy rainfall continued as Hurricane Helene moved inland
Thursday, Sept. 26
Florida
Helene makes landfall at 11:10 p.m. near Perry, Florida, as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph-winds and large field of hurricane-force and tropical storm winds.
Friday, Sept. 27
Georgia
Helene enters Georgia early Friday morning as a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of up to 100 mph. Heavy rain raises rivers in Atlanta.
Tennessee
The Nolichucky Dam in Greene County is at risk for a breach, the Tennessee Valley Authority says late Friday night. After Nolichucky River waters crest, the TVA announces the dam is “stable and secure,” on Saturday afternoon.
At least 45 people are rescued from the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital about 120 miles northeast of Knoxville on Friday afternoon after the facility is surrounded by flood waters from Helene.
Saturday, Sept. 28
Florida
North Carolina
Buildings and bridges in Chimney Rock, a village near the popular Chimney Rock State Park, are destroyed by flooding from the Broad River.
The state Department of Transportation says more than 400 roads in North Carolina should be considered closed and that I-40 and I-26 are impassable in multiple locations.
South Carolina
On Facebook, the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg says floods and wind damage are “the worst event in our office’s history.”
Why is Helene so destructive?
Forecasters warned last Tuesday that a combination of weather patterns would likely soak the region. A front overhead was predicted to interact with a plume of moisture being pulled in ahead of Helene, Paste BN reported.
Specifics of Hurricane Helene include:
- Size: It was large, about 350 miles wide.
- Strength: Winds reached 140 mph at landfall, creating widespread storm surge.
- Heavy rains: In the North Carolina mountains alone, rainfall totals were 29.6 inches at Busick and 24.2 inches at Mount Mitchell.
- Speed: Helene was moving up to 24 mph offshore and 30 mph over land.
More than 200 deaths reported in six states
As of Oct. 29, the number of deaths attributed to Helene stands at 227, according to a Paste BN Network analysis.
- North Carolina: 99
- South Carolina: 49
- Georgia: 33
- Florida: 27
- Tennessee:17
- Virginia: 2
This story has been updated to include the latest information.
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, Josh Meyer, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Will Hofmann, Michael Loria, Jeanine Santucci, Paste BN
Source: Paste BN Network reporting and research; Reuters; National Hurricane Center; poweroutages.us; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration