Hurricane Helene kills 64 people as millions left without power after catastrophic storm: Live updates
The Nolichucky dam that runs near Greenville, Tennessee, remains intact despite concerns over its imminent collapse
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At least 64 people have died as a result of Hurricane Helene, which has caused billions of dollars worth of damage as it rips across a wide swath of the southeastern US.
In a Saturday update on Helene, the National Hurricane Center said that “catastrophic and historic flooding” would continue over portions of the Southern Appalachians, though the risk for additional heavy rainfall was continuing to decrease.
The storm, now classified a post-tropical cyclone, is expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and into Sunday, the NHC added. Millions have been left without power after power lines and cell towers were damaged.
Among the people killed in the storm were three firefighters, a woman and her 1-month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman whose house was struck by a falling tree, according to an Associated Press tally.
Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday packing winds of 140mph and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
Preliminarily estimates put the total damage and economic loss from Helene at between $95bn and $110bn, according to AccuWeather.
NHC updates on Helene
As of Saturday morning, Helene had been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In a morning update, the NHC said widespread, significant river flooding was ongoing across the southern Appalachians, some of which were record-breaking. Conditions are predicted to continue to improve on Saturday, following the catastrophic flooding over the past two days, the center said.
It added that there was a possibility of long-duration power outages in portions of the southeast US and urged members of the public to exercise caution after the system passed, due to hazards including downed power lines and flooded areas.
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Vice President Kamala Harris gives update on Hurricane Helene while at a news conference in Arizona.
“We have food, water, generators that are ready for deployment,” Harris said. “We are working to restore power to millions of people who currently are experiencing outages.”
Still, Harris said, destruction from the storm is not over. “The storm continues to be dangerous and deadly,” she said.
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