Flooding, Devastation Left in Hurricane Helene's Wake

At least 64 people are dead and thousands more displaced in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The storm tore through the Florida panhandle and across the US Southeast late Thursday and into Friday. The full extent of the damage is still unknown.   

“You see some just complete obliteration for homes,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a written statement. Crews had managed to clear about 90% of the roads in hard-hit coastal towns like Tampa Bay. But nearly 250,000 homes in the region remained without power Sunday morning. More than 2.5 million homes are without power throughout the Southeast.    

Helene struck Florida’s “Big Bend” region as a Category 4 storm. It had sustained winds of more than 140 mph. It slowed and weakened after it made landfall. The storm dumped record levels of rain over parts of Georgia and North Carolina. Atlanta received 11.12 inches of rain. That's the highest two-day total in the city’s history. And 31 inches of rain fell on Busick, North Carolina.  

Floodwaters washed out major roads. Portions of Interstate 40 were either buried beneath landslides or swept away. Rivers overran their banks. Authorities in Asheville, North Carolina, declared all roads in the town closed. They did not say when roads may start to reopen.    

It will take months to assess the true cost of Helene’s widespread destruction. Early estimates place property damage alone between $20 billion and $34 billion. That's according to financial firm Moody’s. Accuweather estimates that the long term cost of the storm could be between $95 billion and $110 billion. Part of that cost will be to repair what's been damaged. But it also factors in lost output for people who can't work.    

Reflect: What are some ways communities can come together to support each other during and after a natural disaster?