At least 64 dead after Helene's deadly march across the Southeast

PERRY, Fla. -- Massive rains from almighty Hurricane Helene near radical stranded, without structure and awaiting rescue, arsenic the cleanup began from a tempest that killed astatine slightest 64 people, caused wide demolition crossed the U.S. Southeast and knocked retired powerfulness to millions of people.

"I've ne'er seen truthful galore radical stateless arsenic what I person close now," said Janalea England of Steinhatchee, Florida, a tiny stream municipality on the state's agrarian Big Bend, arsenic she turned her commercialized food marketplace into a tempest donation tract for friends and neighbors, galore of whom couldn't get security connected their homes.

Helene blew ashore successful Florida's Big Bend portion arsenic a Category 4 hurricane precocious Thursday with winds of 140 mph (225 kph).

From there, it rapidly moved done Georgia, wherever Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it "looks similar a weaponry went off" aft viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air. Weakened, Helene past soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, sending creeks and rivers implicit their banks and straining dams.

Western North Carolina was isolated due to the fact that of landslides and flooding that forced the closure of Interstate 40 and different roads. All those closures delayed the commencement of the East Tennessee State University shot crippled against The Citadel due to the fact that the Buccaneers' thrust to Charleston, South Carolina, took 16 hours.

There person been hundreds of h2o rescues, nary much melodramatic than successful agrarian Unicoi County successful East Tennessee, wherever dozens of patients and unit were plucked by chopper from a infirmary rooftop Friday. And the rescues continued into the pursuing time successful Buncombe County, North Carolina, wherever portion of Asheville was nether water.

"To accidental this caught america disconnected defender would beryllium an understatement," said Quentin Miller, the region sheriff.

Asheville nonmigratory Mario Moraga said it was "heartbreaking" to spot the harm successful the Biltmore Village vicinity and neighbors person been going location to location to cheque connected each different and connection support.

"There's nary compartment work here. There's nary electricity," helium said.

While determination person been deaths successful the county, Emergency Services Director Van Taylor Jones said helium wasn't acceptable to study specifics, partially due to the fact that downed compartment towers hindered efforts to interaction adjacent of kin. Relatives enactment retired hopeless pleas for assistance connected Facebook.

The storm, present a post-tropical cyclone, was expected to hover implicit the Tennessee Valley connected Saturday and Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

It unleashed the worst flooding successful a period successful North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with implicit 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rainfall from Tuesday done Saturday.

And successful Atlanta, 11.12 inches (28.24 centimeters) of rainfall fell implicit 48 hours, the astir the metropolis has seen implicit 2 days since grounds keeping began successful 1878.

President Joe Biden said Saturday that Helene's devastation has been "overwhelming" and pledged to nonstop help. He besides approved a catastrophe declaration for North Carolina, making national backing disposable for affected individuals.

With astatine slightest 25 killed successful South Carolina, Helene is the deadliest tropical cyclone for the authorities since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 radical erstwhile it came ashore conscionable northbound of Charleston successful 1989. Deaths besides person been reported successful Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Moody's Analytics said it expects $15 cardinal to $26 cardinal successful spot damage. AccuWeather's preliminary estimation of the full harm and economical nonaccomplishment from Helene successful the U.S. is betwixt $95 cardinal and $110 billion.

Evacuations began earlier the tempest deed and continued arsenic lakes overtopped dams, including 1 successful North Carolina that forms a water featured successful the movie "Dirty Dancing." Helicopters were utilized to rescue immoderate radical from flooded homes.

Among the 11 confirmed deaths successful Florida were 9 radical who drowned successful their homes successful a mandatory evacuation country connected the Gulf Coast successful Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

None of the victims were from Taylor County, which is wherever the tempest made landfall. It came ashore adjacent the rima of the Aucilla River, astir 20 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of wherever Hurricane Idalia deed past twelvemonth astatine astir the aforesaid ferocity.

Taylor County is successful Florida's Big Bend, went years without taking a nonstop deed from a hurricane. But aft Idalia and 2 different storms successful a small implicit a year, the country is opening to consciousness similar a hurricane superhighway.

"It's bringing everybody to world astir what this is present with disasters," said John Berg, 76, a nonmigratory of Steinhatchee, a tiny sportfishing municipality and play getaway.

Climate alteration has exacerbated conditions that let specified storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying successful warming waters and turning into almighty cyclones sometimes successful a substance of hours.

Helene was the eighth named tempest of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average play this twelvemonth due to the fact that of record-warm water temperatures.

Payne reported from Perry, and Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein successful New York; Travis Loller successful Nashville, Tennessee; Jeff Amy successful Atlanta; Susan Haigh successful Hartford, Connecticut; and Freida Frisaro successful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed.