Hurricane Helene weakened into a post-tropical cyclone on Friday after making landfall overnight in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm. The storm has been blamed for at least 44 deaths, including 19 people in South Carolina, as it plowed its way north through several southeastern states.
Authorities continue to rescue people trapped by floodwaters and millions were without power across much of the southeastern U.S.
Helene came ashore amid warnings from the National Hurricane Center that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge.
Tropical Storm John made its second landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast Friday, while in its wake authorities in the resort city of Acapulco called for help from anyone with a boat to deal with the flooding. It has since dissipated over Mexico.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened Friday into a hurricane in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean and could cause dangerous waves in parts of Bermuda, forecasters said.
Tropical Storm Joyce formed on Friday morning in the Atlantic Ocean and wasn't threatening land, forecasters said. The storm was expected to strengthen gradually through Sunday before weakening early next week.
Follow AP’s coverage of tropical weather at https://apnews.com/hub/hurricanes.
Here's the latest:
Vice President Harris urges residents affected by Helene to heed local officials
DOUGLAS, Ariz. — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday urged residents impacted by Hurricane Helene to pay heed to local authorities as the storm continues to wreak havoc on a significant swath of the southeast.
“The storm continues to be dangerous and deadly, and lives have been lost and the risk of flooding still remains high,” Harris said at the start of a campaign speech in Douglas, Arizona. “So, I continue to urge everyone to please continue to follow guidance from your local officials until we get past this moment.”
1 dead in Virginia from a falling tree, governor says
RICHMOND, Va. — In southwestern Virginia, one person died after a tree fell and a building collapsed in Craig County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached at least 44 across five states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Dam near North Carolina-Tennessee border not experiencing ‘catastrophic failure,’ officials say
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said Friday that a “catastrophic failure” was not taking place at Walters Dam, also known as the Waterville Dam, which sits in North Carolina close to the Tennessee border.
A local mayor had urged residents to evacuate due to the dam potentially breaking, but TEMA said in a statement that the “dam has not failed” after talking to Duke Energy, which owns the nearly 100-year-old dam.
Mother and her two infant twins are among those dead in Georgia
ATLANTA — Among people who have died in Georgia are a 27-year-old mother and her two 1-month-old twins, who were killed when trees fell on their house in Thomson, just west of Augusta, said McDuffie County Coroner Paul Johnson.
The coroner said an 89-year-old woman was killed when trees fell on her house elsewhere in the same county.
EVs could catch fire if inundated with saltwater from Hurricane Helene, officials warn
Electric vehicles can catch fire if they are inundated by saltwater, so owners who live in the path of a major storm like Hurricane Helene should take precautions.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been researching this problem since it was first seen after Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeast in 2012. But no one seems to have detailed statistics on just how often this happens.
Two years ago, Hurricane Ian compromised the batteries of as may as 5,000 electric vehicles, and 36 of them caught fire. Several more electric vehicles caught fire in Florida last year after Hurricane Idalia.
It happens often enough that Florida officials were worried about the possibility before Hurricane Helene arrived because they were expecting a potentially devastating storm surge up to 20 feet deep in the northwestern part of Florida.
These fires do seem to be linked specifically to saltwater because salt can conduct electricity. Similar problems haven’t been reported after freshwater flooding in California that was driven by heavy rains early this year.
▶ Read more about electric vehicles catching fire from flooding
Weather reporter interrupts live broadcast to help a woman stranded in her car
ATLANTA — A weather TV reporter in Atlanta interrupted his live report about Hurricane Helene on Friday to rescue a woman from a vehicle stranded by rising floodwaters.
Standing in the rain with the submerged vehicle behind him, Fox reporter Bob Van Dillen described how the woman drove into a flooded area.
In the footage, he said he called 911 and she can be heard screaming as he tries to assure her that help was on the way.
Then, he told the camera, “It’s a situation. We’ll get back to you in a little bit. I’m going to see if I can help this lady out a little bit more you guys.”
▶ Read more about the reporter’s water rescue
Death toll in South Carolina rises to 19
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The death toll from Hurricane Helene in South Carolina is 19 people, with many of the deaths happening from falling trees as the storm moved through early Friday, authorities said.
In Saluda County, two firefighters were killed when a tree fell on their truck while they were answering a call, the Highway Patrol said.
Five people were killed in Spartanburg County, according to Coroner Rusty Clevenger who planned to release details about the deaths later.
In Greenville County, four people were killed by falling trees, Senior Deputy Coroner Shelton England said.
Four people were also killed in Aiken County by trees falling on homes, including a 78-year-old husband and his 74-year-old wife, Coroner Darryl Ables said.
Two people died in Anderson County when trees fell on their houses, the Coroner’s Office said.
And in Newberry County, a married couple died when their car slid on a wet highway and ran into a tree, Coroner Laura Kneece said.
Helene is the deadliest tropical storm in South Carolina since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 people when it came ashore just north of Charleston in 1989.
The deadliest recent hurricanes to hit the US
Recent major hurricanes that made landfall in the U.S. have left hundreds dead and caused billions of dollars in damages.
Since 2020, not including Helene, there have been seven major destructive hurricanes: Laura, Delta, Zeta, Ida, Ian, Idalia and Beryl.
Hurricane Beryl was the first of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Exceptionally warm ocean temperatures caused it to strengthen into a Category 5 storm rapidly in early July.
When hurricane Beryl hit Texas, it had dropped to a Category 1 storm. Beryl has been blamed for at least 36 deaths. The storm caused an estimated $28 billion to $32 billion in damages, according to AccuWeather’s preliminary estimates.
▶ Read more about recent destructive hurricanes
Rainfall from Helene breaks Atlanta's 48-hour record
ATLANTA — Atlanta received 11.12 inches (28.24 centimeters) of rain in 48 hours, breaking the city’s all-time record since record keeping began in 1878, Georgia’s Office of the State Climatologist said on X.
The previous record of 9.59 inches (24.36 cm) in 48 hours was set in 1886.
Hurricane Helene leaves deeps scars where it made landfall
PERRY, Fla. — The windswept beauty of what residents claim is one of Florida’s longest stretches of undeveloped coastline was left deeply scarred after Hurricane Helene crashed ashore in rural Taylor County along the state’s Big Bend.
It’s a part of the state where salt marshes and pine flatwoods stretch unspoiled into the horizon, a region that has largely avoided the crush of condo developments, strip malls and souvenir shops that has carved up so much of Florida’s coastlines. It’s a place where Susan Sauls Hartway and her four-year-old Chihuahua mix Lucy could afford to live within walking distance of the beach on her salary as a housekeeper.
At least until her home was carried away by Helene.
“I knew it would be bad, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad,” she said. “This is unbelievable.”
Friday afternoon, Hartway and Lucy wandered around their street near Ezell Beach, searching for where the storm may have deposited her home.
“It’s gone. I don’t know where it’s at. I can’t find it,” she said.
Born and raised in Taylor County, Hartway said there is nowhere in the world she would rather be, even after Helene. But she’s watched as wealthier residents from out of state have bought up second homes here. She wonders how many of them will sell out — and what will happen to the locals who have nowhere else to go.
“There’s so many people down here, they don’t have any place to go now. This was all they had,” Hartway said. “Some people, they’ll just make do down here. Rough it.”
Insurers could pay $5B to cover losses from Helene
ATLANTA — Insurance data provider A.M. Best on Friday estimated that insurers will pay $5 billion or more to cover losses from Hurricane Helene.
That’s not the total amount of loss, some of which is uninsured and some of which may be repaid with federal aid. Instead, it's the amount that insurance companies are on the hook for.
A.M. Best said insurers paid $2.5 billion to $4 billion in losses for Hurricane Idalia last year, and it expects losses from Helene to be more severe given its broader wind field and a path that hit more urban areas inland.
Curfew issued in western North Carolina community hit hard by Helene
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Officials in a western North Carolina town have issued a curfew due to safety risks from flooded streets and downed power lines from what remains of Hurricane Helene.
“It’s very dangerous out there,” Asheville Police Chief Mike Lamb said. “If you don’t have to be out, don’t go out.”
Lamb said the curfew would occur over a 12-hour period starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
No fatalities have been reported, although officials said any death count won’t be released until family notifications have been made.
Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said hundreds of residents were forced to seek safety at shelters.
The county’s 911 center received more than 3,300 calls over an eight-hour period Friday, and more than 130 swift-water rescues have been conducted, said county Emergency Services Assistant Director Ryan Cole. He said it took crews more than four hours to reach several homes that were hit by a mudslide.
“This is something that we’re going to be dealing with for many days and weeks to come,” Cole said. “So please be patient.”
Former Tropical Storm John dissipates over Mexico
MEXICO — Former Tropical Storm John has dissipated over Mexico, but its remnants will continue to produce rain over the Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacán.
The storm made landfall twice in Mexico, first as a hurricane Monday and a second time as a tropical storm Friday.
Helene downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone
MIAMI — The U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded Helene from a tropical depression to a post-tropical cyclone.
Helene, a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall in Florida late Thursday night, was 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Louisville, Kentucky, at about 5 p.m. EDT. It was moving northwest at 17 mph (28 kph), according to the hurricane center.
The storm was expected to continue producing heavy rain in the area and cause severe flash-flooding as a result. Isolated tornadoes Friday evening were possible in Virginia and North Carolina, the hurricane center said.
Thousands ordered to evacuate after ‘catastrophic failure’ of a dam in eastern Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In eastern Tennessee, a “catastrophic failure” of Waterville Dam spurred Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis to hand down evacuation orders for all of downtown Newport, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Newport is a city of about 7,000 people roughly 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of where dozens of people were being rescued from the roof of a hospital.
Over 1 million customers are still without power in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. — More than 1 million customers remained without power in South Carolina several hours after the remnants of Hurricane Helene left the state and the sun started to come out.
Utility officials warned power could be out for many for a long time. Crews were still assessing the damage and in some cases needed to cut their way through debris just to determine what was left standing.
“You will be frustrated. Tomorrow it’s going to be 86 degrees and clear. You’re going to say ‘Why can’t I watch the football game? Why can’t my life be back to normal?’ Life’s not going to be back to normal until probably the middle of next week,” Dominion Energy South Carolina President Keller Kissam said Friday.
The 1.2 million South Carolina customers without power represent more than 40% of homes and businesses in the state.
Gov. Henry McMaster said the storm moved east of where it was forecast and gave the state a bigger blow than expected.
“We urge everybody to be patient and keep your neighbors in your prayers,” McMaster said.
4 people critically injured after a tornado touches down in North Carolina
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Four people were critically injured and numerous others sustained minor injuries after a tornado touched down in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, officials said.
Three buildings received significant damage, including two restaurants and an auto service center, while a fourth building, a cafeteria, received minor roof damage, Nash County Communications Director Jonathan Edwards said Friday.
The damage appeared to be concentrated on Wesleyan Boulevard and Tiffany Boulevard. An 18-wheel tractor-trailer truck also flipped over in that area, but the driver was not hurt, Edwards said.
Death toll in Georgia rises to 15
ATLANTA — At least 15 people have died in Georgia from causes related to Hurricane Helene, according to Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp.
‘The word that just keeps coming to my mind is just devastated’
PERRY, Fla. — Taylor County, Florida has had a rough couple of years.
Since August of 2023, the rural community along Florida’s Big Bend has taken direct hits from three hurricanes — and seen the closure of its local paper mill, which for decades had been one of the economic lifelines for a county where one in six residents lives below the poverty line.
“The word that just keeps coming to my mind is just devastated,” said Aaron Portwood, publisher of Perry Newspapers, which is based in the county seat of Perry. “You get hit with one thing. And you think, ‘This is bad’. And you recover from that. And then another one hits, and you’re like, ‘ok that stings’. But after about four or five, it starts to feel pretty overwhelming.”
Portwood’s house in Dekle Beach on the county’s long undeveloped coastline was gutted by Hurricane Helene, though the structure still stands. Beyond his own home, Portwood said he’s worried about the future of this county that is steadily having its tax base wiped off the map.
2 firefighters killed in South Carolina were struck by a tree
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Two firefighters killed during Hurricane Helene in South Carolina were struck by a tree, authorities said.
The tree hit their firetruck around 6:30 a.m. Friday about 4 miles (6 kilometers) west of Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina Highway Patrol Cpl. David Jones said.
The Saluda County Coroner’s Office has not released the names of the firefighters.
At least 17 people have been killed in South Carolina as Hurricane Helene tore through the western part of the state.
A mudslide and floodwaters wash out interstate at the North Carolina-Tennessee state line
A mudslide and record floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Helene washed out a section of an interstate highway at the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, transportation officials said.
Photos and video posted on social media showed at least one lane of I-40 had collapsed above the swollen Pigeon River.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation said the interstate was closed in both directions.
The National Weather Service said a flash flood warning continued for the Pigeon River, which crested Friday morning about 3 feet (1 meter) above its previous record level set by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
Georgia Power to make an emergency water release from a dam near Lake Rabun
ATLANTA — Georgia Power Co. is making an emergency release of water from a northeast Georgia dam following heavy rains from Hurricane Helene.
Georgia Emergency Management Director Chris Stallings said no residents who live near Lake Rabun in the state’s mountainous northeast corner were in danger of being flooded. But he said the water release would likely flood roads and bridges that some residents use to access their homes.
“If they don’t leave now, they’re going to be stuck there for at least a day or multiple hours,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters at a morning news briefing. The dam is the third in a series owned by Georgia Power along the Tallulah River, which cuts a deep gorge through part of the area.
“We’ve got to get water out so it doesn’t cause dam failure,” Stallings said. He was unable to say how long the water release would last, saying that would be up to technical experts.
Georgia Power didn’t immediately respond to phone calls, emails and texts seeking information.
Dozens rescued by helicopter from a flooded Tennessee hospital inundated by Helene
NASHVILLE — Dozens of people were being rescued by helicopter from a flooded Tennessee hospital inundated by Helene.
Some 54 people were moved to the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital while water rapidly flooded the facility, according to Ballad Health.
The company said on social media that county officials had ordered an evacuation of the hospital Friday morning due to rising water in the Nolichucky River, including 11 patients.
Boats ordered up by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were unable to safely evacuate the hospital, which was taking on flood water, the company said.
As of midday, Ballad reported that an additional seven people remained in rescue boats as the hospital was engulfed by “extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water.”
Tornado damages businesses in North Carolina
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — A tornado was confirmed Friday in northern Rocky Mount, North Carolina, along U.S. Route 301, city communications specialist Robin Cox said.
There was damage to businesses in the area, but the city did not yet confirm if there were any injuries. Cox said there were emergency workers on the scene as of 2:30 p.m.
DeSantis: ‘We are going to bounce back’
ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that even communities hardest hit by Hurricane Helene would get back on their feet, though it won’t happen overnight.
The governor said it’s extremely difficult when someone loses a home with photos and family keepsakes that don’t have a dollar value. But he vowed, “We are going to bounce back.”
“It’s tough and we understand that. We also understand that this is a resilient state,” DeSantis said at a news conference in storm-damaged St. Pete Beach, not far from where he grew up in Dunedin, Florida.
“We’re going to get people back on their feet,” DeSantis said. “It’s not easy to go through this. It’s not going to be easy in the immediate future, but there’s going to be a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Tropical Storm John hits Mexico’s Pacific coast a 2nd time
MEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm John made its second landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast Friday, while in its wake authorities in the resort city of Acapulco called for help from anyone with a boat to deal with the flooding.
John came ashore near Tizupan in Michoacan state with sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kmh) after making its initial landfall farther east on the coast on Monday as a Category 3 hurricane.
It blew tin roofs off houses, triggered mudslides and toppled scores of trees. After weakening inland, it reemerged over the ocean, reforming as a tropical storm Wednesday and eventually regaining hurricane strength.
At least eight people have died as a result of the storm.
At least 17 people have died in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. — At least 17 people have died after Hurricane Helene moved across South Carolina overnight Friday.
The dead included two firefighters responding to calls in Saluda County, Gov. Henry McMaster said at a Friday news conference.
Two additional deaths were reported in Newberry County, according to McMaster, who didn’t provide details.
Coroners reported 13 other deaths — four in Greenville County, four in Aiken County, three in Spartanburg County and two in Anderson County.
“We’re asking keep all of those families and friends in your prayers,” McMaster said.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached at least 30 across four states
The death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached at least 30 across four states.
According to an Associated Press tally Friday, the deaths occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
‘Dangerous rescue situation’ unfolding at a northeast Tennessee hospital
NASHVILLE — A “dangerous rescue situation” was unfolding in northeast Tennessee on Friday as 54 people were moved to the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital while water rapidly flooded the facility, according to Ballad Health.
The company said on social media that county officials ordered an evacuation of the hospital Friday morning due to rising water in the Nolichucky River, including 11 patients.
Boats ordered up by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were unable to safely evacuate the hospital, which was taking on flood water, the company said.
As of midday, Ballad reported that 54 people were relocated to the roof and seven remained in rescue boats as the hospital was engulfed by “extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water.”
“The situation at the hospital is very dangerous and TEMA and National Guard resources are engaged in what can only be described as a dangerous rescue operation,” Ballad wrote, asking for prayers.
Some bridge lanes connecting Florida barrier island communities reopen
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Some bridge lanes connecting barrier island communities on Florida’s Gulf Coast started reopening on Friday.
The northbound lanes of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge connecting the St. Petersburg area to the Bradenton area were opened Friday afternoon, though southbound lanes remained closed for cleaning up debris and assessing damage, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Southbound lanes of the Howard Frankland Bridge connecting the Tampa area with the St. Petersburg area also were opened to traffic, while northbound lanes were still being inspected and cleared of debris.
The Courtney Campbell Causeway connecting Hillsborough and Pinellas counties remained closed because of debris.
The bridge “took on heavy debris, washout, and roadway damage,” the agency said in a statement. “Bridge inspectors and maintenance clean-up crews are still on-site doing their best to clear the roadway and open it back up to motorists.”
Helene downgraded to a tropical depression
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Helene was downgraded to a tropical depression by forecasters on Friday afternoon.
The storm was located about 125 miles (201 km) southeast of Louisville, Kentucky, and was moving toward the north-northwest at about 28 mph (44 kph). The center said the storm was forecast to stall over the Tennessee Valley Friday night and through the weekend. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts.
Forecasters said Helene was expected to become extratropical later in the day.
North Carolina dam overtopped is not expected to fail, officials say
RALEIGH, N.C. — People living on about 30 streets in a western North Carolina county were ordered Friday to evacuate as water from Tropical Storm Helene overtopped the entire length of a dam in a town best known for the 1980’s movie “Dirty Dancing.”
There is no indication, however, that the Lake Lure Dam is about to fail, state Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson Kat Russell said Friday.
Russell didn’t know how many people lived on the 29 streets within what she called the dam inundation area within Rutherford County, where Lake Lure and the town of the same name are located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Asheville.
The lake flows into the Broad River and was created nearly 100 years ago. The dam is listed as 480 feet (146 meters) long and about 120 feet (36.6 meters) high.
Russell said there is some erosion on one side of the dam caused by the overtopping. Town officials are monitoring it, she said.
Downstream communities have been made aware of the overtopping but have been told they would have several hours to alert residents to their own evacuations if needed, Russell said. The North Carolina and South Carolina state agencies also have received emergency action plans if conditions worsen.
Waters in the iconic lake used to film scenes for the movie “Dirty Dancing,” transforming Lake Lure into upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains.
Helene severely damaged Georgia’s utility infrastructure, electrical group says
ATLANTA — An electrical utility group is warning of “catastrophic” damage to Georgia’s utility infrastructure by Hurricane Helene.
The Georgia Electric Membership Corp., which represents the state’s electric cooperatives, says that the hurricane damaged more than 100 high-voltage transmission lines and that more than 60 substations were out of service Friday morning.
Without transmission lines and substations, the cooperatives can’t feed electricity to homes and businesses. The group warned Friday that “there will be extensive delays in total restoration” and told customers, especially those who rely on electric power for medical needs, to make temporary arrangements.
Of the more than 1 million Georgia electricity customers without power on Friday afternoon, more than 400,000 were customers of cooperatives. Restoration for customers of those utilities in rural areas can take much longer because customers are far apart.
Rain from Helene has helped reduce autumn forest fire risks in West Virginia, governor says
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was thankful Friday that several days of rain, including Friday’s arrival of the remnants from Hurricane Helene, helped reduce the risk of autumn forest fires during an exceptional drought in much of the state.
“I’m tickled to death that we finally have gotten this amount of rainfall,” Justice said during his weekly news briefing. “This will surely, surely assist us in many, many ways in regard to this terrible potential that we had for forest fires.”
Hurricane Ian remembrance event canceled in Fort Meyers Beach
West Palm Beach, Fla. — The town of Fort Myers Beach has canceled its Hurricane Ian Remembrance and Resiliency Ceremony due to cleanup efforts from Hurricane Helene.
In a post on the social platform X, the town said it had to cancel the ceremony and did not say if it would be rescheduled. The town planned the ceremony for Saturday morning to mark when Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida.
A residential street near the Chattahoochee River is completely flooded
ATLANTA — A residential street near the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta and the parking lot of a shopping center across the street is completely flooded. Flooding in the area is expected to get worse.
John Swalm, 17, lives part-time with his dad whose house is on the flooded street. His dad is not in the state and his house is on stilts, but Swalm anticipates “devastating” damage to the house’s yard and wooden patio.
He also believes his dad’s cars are submerged and his kayaks have floated away.
Rainfall in parts of the Carolinas and Tennessee reached at least half a foot
Preliminary data shows rainfall in parts of northwest South Carolina, southwest North Carolina and southeast Tennessee reached at least half a foot between Tuesday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service office for Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Some parts of the region saw more than a foot of rain.
Widespread airport delays and cancellations persist
ATLANTA — Even as Helene’s wind and rain move northward, air travel snarls remain at many airports in the southeast.
The airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, a major hub for American Airlines, saw nearly 400 inbound and outbound flights canceled through 1 p.m. Thursday, with another 500 inbound and outbound flights delayed, according to flight tracking software FlightAware. That’s nearly half of all flights to the airport.
The larger Atlanta Airport saw nearly 200 inbound and outbound flights canceled, while more than 400 were delayed. That’s nearly a quarter of all the flights at that airport.
Problems also lingered at airports in Florida including in Tampa, Tallahassee and Jacksonville, while smaller airports in Asheville, North Carolina and Augusta, Georgia saw a majority of flights canceled.
Water rescues underway in Morristown, Tennessee
NASHVILLE - The National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, said late Friday morning that several water rescues and evacuations were happening near the mountains in the northeastern part of the state, with thousands of trees down in the area.
Local officials had ordered people in locations such as Embreeville and Roan Mountain to evacuate.
5 people have died in Pinellas County after disregarding evacuation warnings
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Five people have died in Pinellas County in Florida after Helene blew threw the area overnight, county officials said Friday.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the deaths all occurred in neighborhoods where residents were told by authorities to evacuate, but many chose to stay and then found themselves trapped by 8 feet of storm surge — an unprecedented event in the county.
Gualtieri said survivors told them they didn’t believe the warnings after other residents told them the surge wouldn’t be that bad. He said people wound up hiding in their attics to get away from the water.
“We made our case, we told people what they needed to do and they chose otherwise,” Gualtieri said. He added that his deputies tried overnight to reach those who had been trapped, but it just wasn’t safe.
“I was out there personally. We tried to launch boats, we tried to use high-water vehicles and we just met with too many obstacles,” Gualtieri said. He said the death toll could rise as emergency crews go door-to-door in the flooded areas to see if anyone remains.
Multiple people are trapped in 115 heavily damaged buildings in Valdosta
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp gave staggering numbers to describe the early damage from Helene Friday morning: 1 million meters without power, 1,300 traffic signals out of commission, 1,100 people in shelters across the state, 152 road closures and 2 interstate closures. In one south central city, Valdosta, 115 buildings were heavily damaged with multiple people trapped inside.
One shelter temporarily housing Georgians lost its roof. A tree fell on one hospital’s generator, cutting the facility’s power.
App State cancels football game against Liberty in North Carolina due to Helene
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State’s home football game against Liberty in Boone, North Carolina, scheduled for Saturday has been canceled due to severe weather in the area from Tropical Storm Helene, the school announced Friday.
Heavy rains in the North Carolina mountains brought flooding to Boone and the town was placed under a state of emergency Thursday.
The nonconference game was scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff and will not be rescheduled, the school said.
App State also canceled a home field hockey game against Bellarmine that was slated for Friday.
Tropical Storm John is causing severe flooding along Mexico’s Pacific coast
MEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm John has caused a total of eight deaths in southern Mexico, and five days of heavy rains have generated severe flooding and mudslides in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.
John, in its second incarnation, was lingering off the Pacific coast just short of a second landfall early Friday. It hit further east on the coast Monday as a Category 3 hurricane.
The flooding is so bad in Acapulco — which still hasn’t recovered from Hurricane Otis last October — that the head of the municipal civil defense agency said authorities were starting to use boats inside the city to rescue people from low-lying neighborhoods. Residents posted videos and photos of cars floating away in floodwaters, and people rescued from raging waters using lifelines.
“We are getting boats to start carrying out more effective evacuations,” Efrén Valdez, civil protection coordinator for Acapulco, told the Milenio Television station. “The situation is very complicated.”
Several Ballad Health facilities closed across multiple states
NASHVILLE — In northeast Tennessee, Unicoi County Hospital was closed Friday due to the weather and its 11 patients were being moved to other hospitals, according to parent company Ballad Health. The company urged people who need care to go to the nearest hospital or call 911.
Meanwhile, every Ballad Health facility postponed all elective surgeries, including those in southwest Virginia, northwest North Carolina and southeast Kentucky. Some of its clinics and urgent care offices were also closed.
Atlanta firefighters rescue a half-dozen people in Hanover West
ATLANTA — Atlanta Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Ronald Slatton said rescue efforts Friday morning helped about half a dozen people who didn’t feel safe in their homes in Hanover West, a neighborhood in north Atlanta. A creek behind some of the residences had risen to about four or five feet, he said.
“We’re just here standing by if they need us,” he said of his expectations for the rest of the day.
Shattered storefronts and mangled awnings dot downtown Valdosta
VALDOSTA, Ga. — In downtown Valdosta, Georgia, Hurricane Helene ripped the sheet metal roof from a large brick building that houses a furniture and antiques store and blew out the back wall. Bricks, plywood and twisted metal covered the grass outside, exposing old lamps, cabinets and other knickknacks in the store’s inventory.
Many shops and businesses along the tree limb-covered sidewalks of the downtown area appeared unscathed. But a few had shattered storefront windows and mangled awnings.
Electricity was out across the city and traffic moved slowly on many roads, with stoplights blacked out and trees blocking several streets.
‘My neighbors across the street got the full brunt of all of it’
ATLANTA — Stacy Quiros noticed early indications of flooding at her home in Hanover West, a neighborhood in north Atlanta, when she woke up Friday morning. She and her husband went to their basement to move important items to higher ground before it took on four inches of water.
Across the street, on lower ground, she pointed out underwater mailboxes and cars with just their roofs peeking out to an Associated Press journalist. She watched as her neighbors with flooded first floors climbed into rescue boats that took them to safety.
“My neighbors across the street got the full brunt of all of it,” she said.
Connecticut National Guard unit deploys to North Carolina
HARTFORD — The Connecticut Army National Guard’s 1-169th Aviation Regiment is providing one CH-47 Chinook helicopter and a five-soldier flight crew for approximately one week to assist North Carolina as Helene moves through the area.
The unit mobilized and deployed to North Carolina on Friday morning.
At least 11 people have died in Georgia
ATLANTA — A spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp says 11 people have died so far in Georgia from causes related to Hurricane Helene.
Spokesperson Garrison Douglas could not immediately provide a breakdown of where and how all the deaths occurred.
Florida officials warn residents to take safety precautions as they clean up
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Just because Hurricane Helene has passed Florida doesn’t mean that dangers are over, the state’s top emergency management official said Friday.
Hazards abound from flooded roadways, downed power lines and debris blocking roads, said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Guthrie urged Floridians to take safety precautions as they clean up. Hold off cleaning up debris where power lines are down, wear goggles when operating a chainsaw and put on a hard hat if available when cleaning up in a damaged building, Guthrie said.
“Just make sure you are being safe if you’re out there,” Guthrie said. “These are all preventable deaths and injuries. We can 100% prevent that.”
‘The priority now is saving lives’
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said in a briefing Friday morning that there had been two storm-related deaths in the state and he expected more to come.
Close to 300 roads were closed and over 100 swift-water rescues had occurred so far, Cooper said.
He added that the storm, particularly in western North Carolina, is causing life-threatening flash flooding, numerous landslides and power outages from downed trees.
“The priority now is saving lives,” Cooper said, telling people to stay off the roads unless they were seeking higher ground.
“With the rain that they already had been experiencing before Helene’s arrival, this is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of western North Carolina,” Cooper said.
Portions of Interstates 40 and 26 were closed due to flooding, officials said.
Emergency workers in Florida are focused on search and rescue efforts
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Around 1,500 emergency workers are focusing their efforts during the first 24 hours after Hurricane Helene’s landfall on search and rescue efforts, Florida’s top emergency management official said Friday.
In the two days following, their efforts will concentrate on securing and stabilizing affected communities, said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
“As those sorts of rescue missions happen today, and continue, please do not go out and visit the impacted areas,” Guthrie said Friday morning at a news conference in Tallahassee. “I beg of you, do not get in their way.”
Rows of homes gone, a gaping hole in the post office and a supermarket wall missing
CEDAR KEY, Fla. — After spending the night riding out the storm and checking in on his neighbors, Michael Presley Bobbitt, 48, woke to find his town of Cedar Key littered with debris with rows of houses gone, a gaping hole clear through his post office and the wall to his local mom-and-pop supermarket missing.
“We’re feeling pretty gut-punched here in Cedar Key,” he said. “When we were fighting this in the night, however bad we thought it would be, it’s much worse in the light of day.”
Despite orders to evacuate, Bobbitt, who has lived in Cedar Key for five years, said he stayed behind to help out those who could not leave with his rescue boat and document the storm.
“All of those people that left are desperate to hear about their homes,” he said. “I’m delivering the most devastating news that they have ever got in their lives.”
Tropical Storm Joyce forms in the Atlantic
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Joyce formed Friday in the Atlantic Ocean and isn’t threatening land, forecasters said.
The storm is located about 1,325 miles (2,130 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands and has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). It was moving northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph).
There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm was expected to strengthen gradually through Sunday before weakening early next week.
More than 50 swift-water rescues conducted in western North Carolina county
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In North Carolina, more than 50 swift-water rescues were conducted from floodwaters in Buncombe County.
“This is the most significant natural disaster that any one of us has ever seen in western North Carolina,” said Ryan Cole, the county’s assistant emergency services director.
Cole said during a briefing that road washouts and closures prevented authorities from responding to some emergency calls. In Asheville, crews were trying to get to a mudslide involving four homes and an undetermined number of people were unaccounted for, he said.
Historic building collapses in downtown Savannah
ATLANTA — A historic building partially collapsed in downtown Savannah as Helene moved through the city.
The Savannah Fire Department says the third story of the three-story brick building collapsed into the second floor after 2 a.m. Friday morning. The top two floors hold apartments, while the bottom floor is home to the Ordinary Pub on Broughton Street, one of the main commercial streets in the city’s historic downtown.
No injuries were reported, but fire officials declared the building unsafe to enter.
A falling tree kills a 2nd person in South Carolina
ANDERSON, S.C. — Authorities are reporting a second death in South Carolina from Helene.
A second person was killed Friday morning by a tree falling on a home in Anderson County, the Coroner’s Office said in a statement.
‘I was so sad, it’s my first apartment’
ATLANTA — Jalen Cruz woke up around 1 a.m. — “thankfully at the right time,” he said.
Water was just starting to trickle into the kitchen of his Atlanta apartment. What started as a “little puddle” swelled to ankle-high flooding at his ankles within 30 minutes, so he gathered some of his valuables to bring to his neighbor’s upstairs.
At its peak, the water rose to his calves, the 25-year-old painter said, meaning he has furniture that’s damaged, unfinished art submerged underwater and paint bubbling formed on his walls.
“It could’ve been a lot worse,” he said. Still, “I was so sad, it’s my first apartment.”
“Physical stuff can be replaced but just to see the state of my first home, submerged in water,” he said, looking back as brown water rushed downstream. “This is my baby.”
Iconic lake from “Dirty Dancing” overtops the North Carolina dam holding it back
RUTHERFORDTON, N.C. — Waters in the iconic lake used to film scenes from the movie “Dirty Dancing” are overtopping the dam holding them back in North Carolina.
Emergency officials in Rutherford County have started evacuating people downstream from Lake Lure and are sounding emergency sirens.
Water has been periodically released from the dam this week, but there has been too much rain to keep up, officials said.
Authorities did not indicate if the dam itself was in danger.
Lake Lure was transformed into upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains for several of the scenes in the 1987 film, including the dance scene where actor Patrick Swayze lifts Jennifer Grey out of the water.
Florida airports will reopen as state inspectors work to clear roadways
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Airports in Florida that closed due to Hurricane Helene will be reopened on Friday, and inspectors were out examining bridges and causeways along the Gulf Coast to get them back open to traffic quickly, the state’s transportation secretary said.
Airports in Tampa, St. Pete, Lakeland and Tallahassee planned to reopen for flights, and 2,000 miles of roadway have been cleared of debris so far, Jared Perdue, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, said Friday morning at a Tallahassee news conference.
“Some of the causeways were underwater, so we have to inspect them and make sure they are safe to pass,” Perdue said. “We had a lot of storm surge up and down the west coast. We had a lot of roads underwater.”
A late-night evacuation in Atlanta with a newborn
ATLANTA — A neighbor knocking woke Marcus Benson on Thursday night after the rain outside — and exhaustion from a newborn baby — had lulled him to sleep. The water level was inching closer to the front door of their apartment, about eight steps up from ground level and high enough that he decided it was time to evacuate.
Benson said it took focus to get himself, his wife and his three-month-old baby through a flooded parking lot to get to the other side of their Atlanta apartment complex.
“You have your son in your arms above water trying to keep him up and you just push and try to get to safety,” Benson said.
Benson doesn’t know the status of his family’s home but is glad they are safe.
Now they just have to “let Mother Nature take its course,” the Atlanta native said, adding that his hometown’s “really changed as far as weather’s concerned.”
Georgia Power expects outages to rise
ATLANTA — Kim Greene, the CEO of Georgia Power Co. told reporters Friday she feared outages would continue to rise for the 2.6 million customers of Georgia’s only private electrical utility.
“All of that rain is leading to very saturated ground, and trees, unfortunately, will continue to fall,” Greene told reporters during a news conference in Atlanta. “So we do expect the number of outages to continue to rise. I assure you that we want to get your power back on just as safely and as quickly as possible.”
A Florida congregation must rebuild again after Helene
PERRY, Fla. — The congregation at Potter’s House Ministries church in Perry, Florida, was just weeks away from moving back into their newly renovated sanctuary after rebuilding in the wake of last year’s Hurricane Idalia. Then Hurricane Helene peeled back the brand-new roof, scattering sheets of aluminum across the church grounds.
“It’s really heartbreaking,” said parishioner Stephen Tucker, moved to tears as he surveyed the damage the morning after Helene made landfall. “I know it’s in God’s will for this to happen. And it’s by the grace of God that we’re still here.”
Tucker said it’s been one blow after another for the community he’s lived in all of his 51 years — a one, two, three punch from Idalia last August, then Debby a year later and now Helene, all making landfall within about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of each other in one county in this rural stretch of Florida’s Big Bend.
“It’s like it never stops,” he said. “Why Taylor County?”
Multiple hospitals without power in south Georgia
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said multiple hospitals in south Georgia are without power after Helene knocked out both their primary power and their generators.
Kemp said trees had fallen densely in the eastern part of the state.
“We know we still have people trapped in homes that we’re trying to cut our way into right now,” Kemp told Fox News.
“We have a lot of resources that we have on the ground already,” Kemp added. “We’re calling up additional National Guard, and we’re going to throw everything we got at it.”
Kemp said wind damage is less severe in metro Atlanta.
“The storm really stayed straight or either moved to the east a little bit, which spared some of our state from being on the dirty side of the storm. So if there’s any blessing in disguise, that’s probably it.”
‘We’re blessed it's still standing'
VALDOSTA, Ga. — The hurricane’s winds stripped away the siding from the steeple in front of Union Cathedral in Valdosta, Georgia, exposing its metal frame and littering the parking lot with shredded foam and plaster.
The storm also smashed plate glass windows by the front doors. Inside the entryway, the floor was strewn with thick glass shards, religious booklets and offering envelopes.
Pastor Wade McCrae, who preaches to 250 congregants in person most Sundays with hundreds more watching online, said the sanctuary was undamaged. Deacons were running errands to bring plywood and tools to cover the broken window. McCrae hoped to be able to hold services this Sunday.
“We’re blessed it’s still standing,” he said.
20 people in Atlanta rescued overnight by firefighters
ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens tells reporters that firefighters rescued about 20 people overnight from cars or apartments imperiled by swiftly rising floodwaters.
Residents in Florida’s Big Bend region wake up to widespread power outages
PERRY, Fla. — Residents of Florida’s Big Bend region woke up to widespread power outages Friday morning after Hurricane Helene made landfall overnight near the mouth of the Aucilla River.
Helene slammed ashore in the largely rural stretch of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, becoming the third hurricane to batter that swath of the state in a little over a year.
As the sun rose over U.S. Highway 27 outside of Perry, cars dodged and weaved among downed pine trees that blocked portions of the road, some ensnarled in power lines. Emergency workers were already on hand clearing debris before 8 am. The air smelled of pine needles and fresh wood — from the staggering trees shattered by the storm, some snapped in half like toothpicks.
Here’s the latest on Hurricane Helene
Authorities rescued people trapped by floodwaters and more than 3 million customers were in the dark across much of the southeastern U.S. as Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm over Georgia early Friday after making landfall overnight in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm.
Helene came ashore amid warnings from the National Hurricane Center that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge. There were at least four storm-related deaths.
Video on social media sites showed sheets of rain coming down in Perry, Florida, near where Helene made landfall, and siding being torn off buildings. One local news station showed a home that had flipped over. The community and much of surrounding Taylor County were without power.
▶ Catch up on what happened overnight with Hurricane Helene
The Associated Press
