Helene Ravages Southeast

Hurricane Helene has left a trail of devastation since making landfall last week, killing over 100 people across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Dozens of people remain unaccounted for; more than 4 million people have experienced power outages. 

A leading danger has come from floods and mudslides. In Tennessee, a bridge collapsed and a dam narrowly avoided failure. In North Carolina, entire towns and cities were cut off, with Asheville (population 94,000) largely isolated for days, requiring emergency supplies to be airlifted in. Atlanta witnessed the heaviest downfall of rain in a 48-hour period in its history. Dozens of people across multiple states have been rescued by helicopter. See photos of the storm’s impact here.

Part of the impact can be explained by the storm’s relatively large width (see previous write-up). As Helene was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, the system continued to cause storm surges and historic floodwaters.