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VIDEOS AND THIS MAP REVEAL THE EXTENT OF HELENE’S DESTRUCTION


FOLLOW ALONG THE STORM’S PATH AS IT LEAVES TOWNS UNDER WATER.

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© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map © Maxar





Helene's damage spread far away from its path over the country.

The storm's surge engulfed most of Florida's west coast, as far south as Tampa
and Fort Myers.

The storm moved unusually fast and its intense winds penetrated far inland,
lashing a large swath of Georgia.

In western North Carolina, Helene brought “biblical” and “apocalyptic” flooding,
according to firsthand witnesses, after a deluge had saturated soils and swelled
waterways days in advance.

By John Muyskens
, 
John Farrell
, 
Naema Ahmed
, 
Simon Ducroquet
and 
Jason Samenow
September 30, 2024 at 12:58 p.m. EDT
849
Sorry, a summary is not available for this article at this time. Please try
again later.

The massive and powerful Hurricane Helene, with its devastating combination of
water and wind, has carved a path of destruction from Florida to the Southern
Appalachians.

At least 104 people have died. Entire communities are flooded; some are cut off
with no way in or out. Homes and vehicles have been swept away by high water.
Hundreds of roads have been washed out. Bridges were destroyed. More than 4
million people lost power across 10 states.

South Pasadena, Fla., Sept. 26

(City of South Pasadena / Facebook)

St. Petersburg, Fla., Sept. 27

(Chris Zuppa)

Treasure Island, Fla., Sept. 27

(Luis Velarde and Erin Patrick O’Connor/The Post)

Tampa, Fla., Sept. 27

(Mayor Jane Castor via Storyful)

Perry, Fla., Sept. 27

(Luis Velarde and Erin Patrick O’Connor/The Post)

Siesta Key, Fla., Sept. 27

(Sarasota County via Storyful)

Steinhatchee, Fla., Sept. 27

(Luis Velarde and Erin Patrick O’Connor/The Post)

Helene swept inland in Florida’s Big Bend area with a record-breaking ocean
surge that may have exceeded 15 feet, sweeping away homes and leveling
businesses in coastal communities like Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee and Horseshoe
Beach. Destructive winds that neared 100 mph damaged buildings and flattened
trees.

Rising waters topped 6 feet in Tampa Bay, swamping vehicles and residences.

Valdosta, Ga., Sept. 28 (John Falchetto/AFP/Getty Images) (John
Falchetto/AFP/Getty Images)

Valdosta, Ga., Sept. 28

(John Falchetto/AFP/Getty Images)

Atlanta, Ga., Sept. 27

(Holly Gilbert via Storyful)

Morrow, Ga., Sept. 27 (David Walter Banks) (David Walter Banks for The
Washington Post)

Morrow, Ga., Sept. 27

(David Walter Banks)

In Georgia, downpours arrived more than a day before the storm. As Helene
charged through the state Thursday night into Friday morning, at least half a
foot of rain covered much of the state while gusts reached 50 to 80 mph,
toppling trees and causing statewide flooding.

Atlanta, particularly hard hit by flooding, saw its wettest two days on record
Thursday and Friday.

Asheville, N.C., Sept. 27

(Peter Berg via Storyful)

Boone, N.C., Sept. 27

(ResortCams)

Chimney Rock, N.C., Sept. 27

(Banff Luther via Storyful)

North Cove, N.C., Sept. 28

(Julia Wall)

Elkin, N.C., Sept. 27

(@creathir via Spectee)

Greenville, S.C., Sept. 27

(@CityGreenville)

The Southern Appalachians, about 400 miles north of where Helene came ashore,
suffered the most severe destruction. Two waves of torrential rain unloaded as
much as 30 inches in the mountains of North Carolina, unleashing catastrophic
landslides while rivers soared to unprecedented levels and lakes overflowed.

Extreme flooding was also reported in parts of western South Carolina, eastern
Tennessee and southwest Virginia. In Erwin, Tenn., the Unicoi County Hospital
didn’t have time to clear out Friday before the floods gushed in. More than 50
patients and staffers were marooned on the roof. For hours, fierce winds
prevented helicopters from scooping them to safety.

Greeneville, Tenn., Sept. 28

(Tennessee Valley Authority via Storyful)

Afton, Tenn., Sept. 27

(Landon Duckett via Storyful)

Erwin, Tenn., Sept. 27

(Virginia State Police via Storyful)

Hartford, Tenn., Sept. 27

(Tennessee DoT via Storyful)

Niko Kommenda contributed to this report. Editing by Monica Ulmanu.

Hurricane Helene aftermath

Hand-curated

Helene death toll tops 100 across six states, as N.C. towns await more
helpSeptember 30, 2024
‘Completely and entirely erased’: How Helene swallowed one mountain town
September 29, 2024
Some flee flooded N.C. towns, as concerns remain about lack of
resourcesSeptember 29, 2024
View all 14 stories
849 Comments
John MuyskensJohn Muyskens is a graphics reporter who focuses on climate change
and environmental justice.@JohnMuyskens
Follow
John FarrellJohn Farrell is the video editor for the Climate & Weather
team.@jafarrell17
Follow
Naema AhmedNaema Ahmed is a graphics reporter on The Washington Post's climate
and environment team. Before joining The Post, she worked at Axios as a data
visualization designer.@NaemaAhmed
Follow
Simon DucroquetSimon Ducroquet is a Climate graphics reporter for The Washington
Post. Before joining The Post, Simon worked on the graphics desk for the
Brazilian publications O Globo, Folha de S.Paulo and Nexo Jornal. @Ducroquet
Follow
Jason SamenowJason Samenow is The Washington Post’s weather editor and Capital
Weather Gang's chief meteorologist. He earned a master's degree in atmospheric
science and spent 10 years as a climate change science analyst for the U.S.
government. He holds the Digital Seal of Approval from the National Weather
Association.@capitalweather
Follow


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