Helene’s Wrath: North Carolina Towns Isolated, Dozens Dead

At a Glance At least 58 people are dead across five states.

Entering the weekend, over 3 million homes and businesses remained without power.

Flash flooding and landslides in western North Carolina have isolated many people. Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast this week, leaving a path of devastation. Dozens of people died as a result of catastrophic flooding, tornado damage, downed trees and other impacts of the destructive storm. Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Florida’s Big Bend, but prompted flash flood emergencies stretching into Appalachia. By Sunday morning, just under 3 million remain without power and some parts of western North Carolina are cut off by mudslides and flooding. And, across the Southeast, many communities are in recovery mode due to significant damage.

O​n Sunday morning, North Carolina's Governor announced that President Joe Biden approved his request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration, providing immediate federal help for the western North Carolina region. This declaration is in addition to the federal emergency declaration that was in place before Tropical Storm Helene hit the state.

As Helene barged inland, western North Carolina faced devastating flooding with some areas submerged under feet of water. Other neighborhoods were isolated by standing water or mudslides. “Over 400 roads remain closed in North Carolina,” The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Saturday. “All roads in Western NC should be considered closed.”

One woman told the Associated Press that her family in the Asheville area has been unreachable. “I think that people are just completely stuck, wherever they are, with no cell service, no electricity,” she said.

Nearly 3 million homes and businesses remained without power across the Southeast on Sunday, according to PowerOutatges.us. Georgia Electric Membership Corp. reports that 100 high-transmission lines were lost in the state. Duke Energy, with many customers in North Carolina, say linemen are out working to reconnect service for homes and businesses. The Associated Press reports that, in South Carolina, crews had to cut their way through debris before they could even assess the damage in some places.

Advertisement The Big Bend region in Florida was one of the hardest-hit areas. Many residents in the region found their homes or roads completely washed away. Some coastal and island towns like Cedar Key endured storm surge flooding in excess of 15 feet above the ground.

Foundations and steps to buildings that were destroyed by the storm surge from Hurricane Helene are seen along the shoreline in the aftermath of the storm, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

Helene was a huge storm. Tropical-storm-force winds extended over 300 miles out from the center just before landfall. The storm’s landfall and path was tracked on satellite from space. You can watch it here.

Here’s a look at some of Helene’s eye-popping stats:

-Strongest hurricane landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region

-Third hurricane to make landfall there in 13 months.

-Estimated peak surge of 10.33 feet in Cedar Key appeared to break a record dating back to a hurricane in 1896.

-More than a foot of rain fell in parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Nearly 30 inches was recorded near Busick, North Carolina.