At least 40 people have been killed after Hurricane Helene’s deadly rampage through the south east of the US, according to AP.
It comes as emergency crews scramble to rescue people trapped in flooded homes, while dramatic footage shows houses left in ruins and trees toppled by winds of up-to 140 mph.
Helene has been downgraded to a tropical depression but is still packing “life-threatening” conditions as it ploughs across the country with a flash flood emergency issued and millions left without electricity.
Hurricane-force wind gusts were still occurring Friday in parts of Georgia, North and South Carolina, with very heavy rainfall was ongoing for much of the US Southeast.
The Category 4 hurricane killed at least 15 in Georgia, according to Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for US governor Brian Kemp. Among the dead were a first responder, a seven-year-old boy and four-year-old girl after a tree fell on a house in Washington county and trapped them in their burning home, WRDW TV reported.
Officials in South Carolina reported at least 17 storm-related deaths, including two firefighters killed when their vehicle was struck by a tree before sunrise on Friday.
A four-year-old girl died in Claremont, North Carolina, in a traffic accident in heavy rain, while people were forced to evacuate after warnings Lake Lure dam was facing “‘imminent failure”.
Meanwhile, five were killed in Pinellas county, Florida, with at least two drowning in the floods, the local sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, said. Other reported fatalities in that state included a 70-year-old woman found in a flooded house in Tampa, a person killed in a traffic accident late on Thursday, and one dead when a tree fell on their house in Dixie county.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis posted on X: “Hurricane Helene brought significant storm surge to the Tampa Bay region and I surveyed the damage in St. Pete Beach.
“Since late last night, first responders have been carrying out hundreds of successful search-and-rescue operations here and in other areas hit hard by the storm. Florida is grateful for their courageous efforts”, he added.
A second dam suffered “catastrophic failure” on Friday after major rainfall and deadly flash flooding from Tropical Depression Helene. The Waterville Dam in Tennessee, which sits close to Newport, a town of 7,000 people, was declared a state of emergency.
It came after more than 50 people are currently stranded on the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital in Erwi, before they were rescued safely from the roof of the building, according to US Senator Bill Hagerty.
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began 1 June. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures, which scientists say is accelerated by the burning of fossil fuels and human-induced climate change.
