Helene leaves the southern US, rocking floods and power outages

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(Bloomberg) — Rescue missions are underway in the southern United States as the region sinks from historic flooding from Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 52 people and knocked out power to millions, putting stress on aging dams and leaving behind potential losses of over $100 billion.

Water backups were reported Saturday in northern Tennessee and North Carolina, which saw nearly 31 inches (79 cm) of rainfall from Helene in some places, according to the Weather Prediction Center — the current maximum anywhere. Search and rescue teams from 19 other states have deployed to North Carolina, helping to rescue more than 200 people from Helene’s floodwaters so far.

“This is a historic and catastrophic storm for western North Carolina, and I am grateful to the first responders who are working right now to save lives and evacuate residents,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. “Efforts are also underway to restore power and communications, and we are airlifting the necessary supplies.”

From Indiana to Florida, more than 3.2 million customers are without power, with South Carolina accounting for about 31 percent, according to PowerOutage.us.

The remnants of Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Florida, were last tracked about 215 miles west-southwest of Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday morning as they were absorbed into a weather pattern great.

Read more: Hurricane Helene’s deadly flooding began days before landfall

Although parts of North Carolina were hit particularly hard, greater Georgia and South Carolina also received between 11 inches and 14 inches (28-36 cm) of rain before Helene dissipated , Brian Hurley, a senior meteorologist for US Weather. The Prediction Center said in an interview.

It has been more than 100 years since the region has been hit by such severe flooding, Hurley said. “For some of those areas you have to go back no doubt over 100 years, for some it could be in the 300-year range.”

Additional rain is forecast, which will allow rescuers to rescue residents and give rivers, streams and dams a chance to slowly recover from the storm, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area late Thursday. Flash flood advisories and warnings are still scattered across the south as rivers take on additional runoff from recent extreme rains.

Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental US since Ian hit Florida in 2022, killing at least 150 people and causing $122 billion in damage and losses. In the south, up to 52 people were killed by Helene, the Associated Press reported.

In addition, the storm can be one of the most expensive. Helene’s flooding and destruction could total between $95 billion and $110 billion, commercial forecaster AccuWeather Inc. estimated, which would easily place it among the top five hurricanes to hit the US.

Read more: Helene is dumping rain on the millions of homes that don’t have flood insurance

President Joe Biden approved a state of emergency for Tennessee on Saturday, after earlier in the week for South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

Widespread damage was reported, with water flowing through the streets of many cities and towns, snarling transport. Parts of Interstate 40, a major east-west highway, were washed out, as were parts of Interstate 26, which runs north-south.

“All roads in Western NC should be considered closed,” the state’s transportation department said in a post at X Saturday afternoon. “Travel to this area for non-emergency purposes impedes the necessary emergency response.”

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The Lake Lure dam in North Carolina, where scenes from Dirty Dancing were filmed, was overstretched and officials feared it might fail. Residents living on the streets below the dam were ordered to leave their homes, and shelters were in place nearby, according to the city. website. Engineers conducted an inspection and declared the structure safe Friday evening.

Many other dams in the region are also under stress. East Tennessee officials ordered evacuations near Nolichucky Dam, which was in danger of breaching early Saturday morning. The water level eventually peaked at 9.5 feet (3 meters) above the record high before beginning to recede Saturday morning, said Elisabeth Thompson, senior strategic consultant for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“Our dam safety personnel are continuing to conduct inspections,” Thompson said, “and are waiting for the water to continue to recede before doing further inspections. But as far as we can tell, we’re in good shape.”

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Joyce and Hurricane Isaac are churning in the Central Atlantic and currently pose no threat to land. There are two more storms that could develop next week, one near Cabo Verde, off Africa, and another in the western Caribbean, close to where Helene originated.