US media reported deaths in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Virginia.
At least 20 people have died in South Carolina, including two firefighters. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office confirmed at least 15 deaths in his state and warned that the city of Valdosta had 115 severely damaged buildings with people trapped inside. The storm claimed seven lives in Florida, and one death was confirmed in Virginia.
Those states, as well as Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, still had power outages for 4.2 million homes and businesses as of Friday evening. Houses were destroyed and several settlements were flooded, and many roads were impassable.
Many people may still be trapped in the rubble of destroyed or damaged buildings.
A dramatic rescue operation took place in Erwin, Tennessee. More than 50 patients and hospital staff took refuge on the roof of the flooded hospital, and helicopters were sent to rescue them.
The US National Meteorological Service reported that “Helena” reached the coast of Florida as a category 4 hurricane on Thursday at 11:10 p.m. (Friday at 6:10 a.m. Latvian time), but the hurricane gradually weakened on Friday.
The service said the storm “still produces historic and catastrophic flooding” and warned of the possibility of flash flooding in Georgia’s largest city, Atlanta, as well as in South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. In some places, the water level was five meters high on Friday. There was also the risk of landslides due to too much rain.
Many of the victims were killed or injured by falling trees, while others lost their lives in their cars. A woman drowned in her home in Florida, CNN reported.
In North Carolina, authorities warned that water could breach a levee and asked nearby residents to move to a safer place.
After tearing through the southeastern United States, Hurricane Helena moved across the Appalachian Mountains on Friday, hitting Tennessee, Virginia and other states.
“Helena” had already caused flooding and power outages in Cuba as the storm was still heading toward the United States.
2024-09-28 20:48:35