LIVE: At least 44 deaths reported amid catastrophic destruction, millions without power after monster Helene

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Sep 28, 2024

LIVE: At least 44 deaths reported amid catastrophic destruction, millions without power after monster Helene

Helene is the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States this year, and it will continue to produce life-threatening conditions as it moves inland over the Southeast with intense wind and flooding rain.

Updated Sep. 28, 2024 10:36 AM ART

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11 HOURS AGO

Helene's impact, by the numbers

By Ade Adeniji, AccuWeather Staff Writer

Sep. 27, 2024 11:37 PM ART

Though no longer the powerful category 4 storm that slammed into northwestern Florida, Helene continues to hang around as a post-tropical cyclone, bringing heavy rains, winds, and other turbulent weather to the south and midwest.

In one Florida county, several fatalities occurred in neighborhoods where evacuation orders had been issued, according to Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff of Pinellas County near St. Petersburg. He noted that some residents, who disregarded the warnings, ended up seeking refuge in their attics to escape the rising floodwaters.

As 12 a.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 28, here are some numbers associated with the historic storm Helene:

Nearly 30 inches

Nearly 30 inches of rain fell over a 48-hour period in Busick, North Carolina.

Atlanta recorded 11.2 inches in 48 hours, beating out its 9.59-inch record that had stood since 1886.

More than 3.5 million

10 states are still dealing with major power outages in the wake of Helene. The five most affected states are South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, combining for more than 3.5 million customers without power.

More than 4 million customers were without power earlier in the day. For hurricanes, this is the largest number since Hurricane Irma knocked out power to 7.6 million customers in 2017.

At least 44

Helene has claimed at least 44 lives according to ABC News. In Georgia, at least 15 people have died according to according to Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp.

Falling trees killed two people in Anderson County in the northwest part of South Carolina, according to Fox Carolina. Two more people died — and four more were injured — in Newberry County as a result of Hurricane Helene, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster told CNN.

1,500 workers

1,500 emergency workers are focusing on search and rescue efforts in Florida after Helene, the state's top emergency management official said Friday. “As those sorts of rescue missions happen today, and continue, please do not go out and visit the impacted areas,” said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “I beg of you, do not get in their way.”

54 people

When turbulent floodwaters from Helene surged around Unicoi County Hospital in Eastern Tennessee Friday morning, 54 patients and staff were forced to wait for rescue on a roof. Luckily, helicopters arrived to bring everyone to safety. The culprit: the overflowing waters of the Nolichucky River, which local alderman Michael Baker estimated were rushing at nearly 100,000 cubic feet per second.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime storm for sure," Baker said. "This is unprecedented."

12 HOURS AGO

Are there more tropical threats brewing following Helene?

By Ade Adeniji, AccuWeather Staff Writer

Sep. 27, 2024 10:06 PM ART

While most in the southeast and beyond are still thinking about Helene, there may be more tropical activity in the first days of October, AccuWeather hurricane experts warn.

"The Central American gyre is very active at the moment, said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck.

But what exactly is a gyre?

The Central American gyre refers to a large area of cyclonic rotation anchored in Central America bridging the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans. This region is active during the rainy season of the tropics, from May through November.

"There is the potential for one or more systems to develop from this broad circulation through the first days of October," Smerbeck emphasized.

Within this tropical gyre, the air is not only rotating counterclockwise, but it is also rising. Rising air generates clouds, showers and thunderstorms, which can then organize into a tropical depression or storm under the right conditions.

There is a medium risk of tropical development in the western Caribbean Sea and southern Gulf of Mexico from Oct. 1-4.

So far, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has produced 10 named storms and six hurricanes. But with more than two months left, there is still plenty of time for more storm development.

14 HOURS AGO

Electric vehicles could catch fire if inundated with saltwater from Helene

By Ade Adeniji, AccuWeather Staff Writer

Sep. 27, 2024 8:41 PM ART

As multiple states from Florida all the way up through Ohio recover from Helene, there's another wild card danger in the mix: Electric vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first started digging into this threat after 2012's devastating Hurricane Sandy.

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