Hurricane Helene live updates: Storm brings 'devastation' and kills at least 38 (2024)

Summary

At least 43 people have been killed across the southeast US since Storm Helene made landfall in Florida last night - including first responders in South Carolina and Georgia who died trying to save others
Streets are underwater in parts of Georgia, where the National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings and warned more than a million people are at risk. At least 15 have died in the state
In Florida, clean up operations are under way, with a Cedar Key resident telling the BBC his home "miraculously survived" while others "are missing or flattened" entirely
One of the biggest storms to ever hit the Gulf Coast, Helene has barrelled across Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas after devastating Florida with fierce winds and flash flooding.
Originally a category four hurricane, Helene was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday and then a tropical depression

Live Reporting

Edited by Christal Hayes

Thanks for following our live coveragepublished at 01:27 British Summer Time
01:27 BST
We're going to end of our live storm coverage of Helene.
Currently over the US state of Kentucky, the storm continues to lose strength but is still bringing heavy rains and flooding across the southeast US.
We have a full look at the storm, the mounting death toll and more here.
Thank you for joining us today and be sure to return to the BBC for additional news as it comes.
Sam Cabral reported from Washington, DC, and Max Matza reported from Seattle, Washington, with contributions from Nadine Yousif, Kayla Epstein and Holly Honderich. This page was edited by Christal Hayes and Sam Hancock.
Photos: Southeast states ravaged by Helenepublished at 01:00 British Summer Time
01:00 BST
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, EPA
Image source, Reuters
How Helene compares with other hurricanespublished at 00:42 British Summer Time 28 September
00:42 BST 28 September
Image source, Getty Images
The death toll from Helene is mounting at an alarming pace.
Last year, during one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, there were only 21 deaths, with Hurricane Idalia being responsible for 12 of them.
But Hurricane Ian in September 2022 was responsible for at least 156 deaths, with more than half of its victims in Florida.
The deadliest hurricanes in US history, however, count their death tolls in the thousands.
Leading the pack is the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed approximately 8,000 people.
In the modern era, Hurricane Katrina registers as both the most devastating, with at least 1,245 deaths, and the costliest, displacing over 1 million Americans.
Watch: Helene forces dramatic flooding and rescuespublished at 00:32 British Summer Time 28 September
00:32 BST 28 September
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Helene death toll climbs to 43published at 00:01 British Summer Time 28 September
00:01 BST 28 September
At least 43 deaths have now been attributed to Helene, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.
The largest share of the deaths so far have been recorded in South Carolina, where at least 17 people have been killed. Local officials confirmed fatalities in six different counties, including two firefighters and two people killed when trees fell on their houses.
Another 15 people died in Georgia, a spokesperson for the governor said earlier.
Florida has recorded at least eight deaths, North Carolina has seen two and Virginia has had one.
Nearly 4 million Americans still without powerpublished at 23:40 British Summer Time 27 September
23:40 BST 27 September
Data from PowerOutage.us, which tracks and aggregates power outages across the country, indicates that more than 3.9 million American homes and businesses in the path of Helene are currently without power.
That includes more than 1.1 million customers in South Carolina and about 900,000 in both Georgia and North Carolina.
No deaths have been recorded in Ohio but more than 300,000 customers do not have electricity there.
Multiple injures reported after 2 tornados hit North Carolinapublished at 23:21 British Summer Time 27 September
23:21 BST 27 September
Image source, Reuters
At least two confirmed tornados hit North Carolina in the past few hours, according to the National Weather Service's office in Raleigh.
The first struck just before noon near the small town of Garland.
The next touched down around 13:30 local time in the city of Rocky Mount. It damaged 11 buildings in the area, and left 15 people injured.
Four of those injured are in serious condition, according to the weather service.
Dozens rescued from Tennessee hospitalpublished at 23:09 British Summer Time 27 September
23:09 BST 27 September
All hospital staff and patients have now been safely evacuated from the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital in Tennessee after images showed people stranded on top of the building amid rising floodwaters.
As of 16:40 local time, "no one remains at the facility" the hospital said in a statement.
"Affected patients have been transferred to Johnson City Medical Center, and their families have been updated," the statement added, noting that the submerged hospital remains closed until further notice.
Helicopters working alongside the Tennessee National Guard and the Virginia State Police led the rescue of 58 people, according to the hospital.
Helene now a post-tropical cyclonepublished at 22:48 British Summer Time 27 September
22:48 BST 27 September
Image source, EPA
Helene continues to weaken as it moves over Kentucky and Tennessee. It is now being further downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, according to a recent update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
But while the winds have died down to around 35mph (55km/h), heavy rains continue. The risk of flash flooding remains, officials warn, as does the danger of electrocution from fallen power lines.
The NHC's update also reminds people to use generators safely, as millions remain in the dark. The generators must be kept outdoors and 20 feet away from buildings.
Death toll rises to at least 38 from Helenepublished at 22:33 British Summer Time 27 September
22:33 BST 27 September
Helene is responsible for at least 38 deaths across the southeast US, according to CBS, the BBC's US news partner.
That includes at least 15 people in the state of Georgia, according to a spokesperson for the governor's office.
Governor Brian Kemp earlier on Friday said a first responder was among the dead.
Officials in South Carolina meanwhile told CBS the state has seen at least 13 storm-related deaths so far.
The state's governor, Henry McMaster, says the toll includes two firefighters killed in Saluda County.
Additional deaths have been reported in North Carolina, Florida and Virginia.
North Carolina county warns of 'imminent' dam failurepublished at 22:10 British Summer Time 27 September
22:10 BST 27 September
Officials in Rutherford County, North Carolina, are warning that a dam poses an imminent threat to residents.
"Residents below the Lake Lure dam need to evacuate to higher ground immediately!!" officials posted on the county Facebook page, external.
"Dam failure imminent!! Evacuate to higher ground immediately!"
The local branch of the National Weather Services warned that flash floods were possible and residents needed to get to higher ground.
Rescuers race to save hospital staff and patients trapped on roofpublished at 21:48 British Summer Time 27 September
21:48 BST 27 September
Image source, Virginia State Police
Officials are deploying teams to rescue more than 50 people trapped on the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital in Tennessee.
Ballad Health, which runs the hospital, posts on social media that it was alerted this morning by county officials that the hospital staff, as well as 11 patients, must be evacuated due to the rapidly rising Nolichucky River.
"Unicoi County leaders deployed ambulances, however, the flooding of the property happened so quickly the ambulances could not safely approach the hospital," Ballad Health says.
Emergency officials sent boats, but the water around the building "which had also begun intruding inside the hospital, became extremely dangerous and impassable and prevented the boats from safely being able to evacuate the hospital".
High winds also made aerial evacuations impossible, the hospital said.
Virginia State Police posted on X/Twitter that the agency is currently deploying "aviation units" to rescue the 58 patients and staff that are trapped on the roof.
Helene downgraded to tropical depressionpublished at 21:28 British Summer Time 27 September
21:28 BST 27 September
We're hearing that Helene has been downgraded to a tropical depression - but is still packing winds of 35mph (55kph) as it travels slowly over Kentucky and Tennessee.
Its heavy rains continue to produce catastrophic flooding in the Appalachians, the National Hurricane Center says.
Helene came ashore in Florida late on Thursday as a category four hurricane, with wind speeds of up to 140 mph (225 kph).
It weakened early on Friday to a tropical storm as it moved over Georgia.
Watch: Georgia home destroyed by fallen treepublished at 21:26 British Summer Time 27 September
21:26 BST 27 September
How Storm Helene unfolded... in less than 120 wordspublished at 20:46 British Summer Time 27 September
20:46 BST 27 September
Image source, Reuters
After making landfall near Perry, Florida yesterday, Helene moved north - bringing destruction to Georgia and the Carolinas along the way.
The storm slammed into the Gulf Coast as a category four hurricane, making it one of the most powerful and widest to hit the US in history, but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
People living in coastal areas of Florida were badly affected, with a Cedar Key resident telling the BBC he'd seen entire homes flattened or go missing.
At least 20 people have died, including an emergency responder in Georgia, and millions are without power.
We're expecting an update from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shortly, which we'll bring you the key lines from.
Power outages spread northpublished at 20:16 British Summer Time 27 September
20:16 BST 27 September
Storm Helene has left more than four million customers in the US without power as it continues northward, the latest figures show.
Data from PowerOutage.us, external shows that more outages are now being reported in multiple states across the Southeast. As the storm moves north, outage numbers are ticking up in Virginia and in the Appalachian Mountains, while the number of disruptions are decreasing in Florida as first responders continue clean-up efforts there.
Here are the latest outage figures as of 15:00 EDT (20:00 BST)
- Virginia - 231,000
- North Carolina - Over 1 million
- South Carolina - 1.2 million
- Georgia - 946,000
- Florida - 835,000
- Tennessee - 114,000
- Kentucky - 220,000
- West Virginia - 81,000
- Ohio - 82,000
'My house survived but it'll take years for my community to recover'published at 19:34 British Summer Time 27 September
19:34 BST 27 September
Nadine Yousif
Live reporter
Image source, Michael Bobbit
Michael Bobbit, a clam farmer who lives on Cedar Key island on Florida's Big Bend, tells me in a text message that his house - which sits atop a hill - "miraculously survived, but the island is totally devastated"
In a video posted on social media afterwards, Bobbit highlights some of the losses: "Entire houses are missing or flattened in on themselves, the hardware store is gone, the downtown Jiffy (food market) completely destroyed, the post office completely destroyed."
"It’s hard to take in," the 48-year-old goes on. "However bad we imagined it would be, it’s so much worse in the daylight."
Bobbit adds that he believes it will take years for the small island of around 720 people to recover.
- You can see some of the damage done to Cedar Key, and other areas of Florida, in our previous picture-led post.
Damaged homes and debris floating through businesses - photos show destruction in Floridapublished at 19:17 British Summer Time 27 September
19:17 BST 27 September
We're seeing more images of the clean up operations taking place in Florida, where Storm Helene arrived at high speed last night and was particularly bad for those living in coastal areas.
Locals are cleaning up destroyed buildings on the island of Cedar Key while in Steinhatchee, houses look as though they're floating in high waters.
Take a look:
Image source, EPA
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Five more fatalities in Florida brings death toll to at least 20published at 18:41 British Summer Time 27 September
18:41 BST 27 September
We're hearing from officials in Florida, where the Helene death toll is rising.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says at least five people have died in the area since last night.
First responders worked throughout the night but were unable to answer several emergency calls due to the conditions, Reuters reports Gualtieri as saying.
Earlier, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reported two separate deaths in the state, but warned the figure could rise.
- This latest update puts the total number of people killed in Storm Helene to at least 20 - we're continuing to monitor the latest updates and will bring you them as they come in.
Tracking Helene's pathpublished at 17:49 British Summer Time 27 September
17:49 BST 27 September
After making landfall in Florida last night, Storm Helene has pushed further inland - causing flash floods in Georgia - and continues to make its way north.
Here's a look at where the National Hurricane Center believes the storm will end up by tomorrow: