Forty-seven people reportedly died as Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the southeastern portion of the United States.
Authorities fear the death toll will rise in the coming days as cleanup continues following the storm, which was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Friday, Reuters reported Saturday, noting that several states endured heavy rains and flooding.
The outlet said:
At least 3.25 million customers woke up early on Saturday without power across five states, with authorities warning it could be several days before services were fully restored. The worst outages were in South Carolina with more than 1 million homes and businesses without power, and Georgia with 777,000 without power.
Residents in North Carolina experienced major rainfall: 29.6 inches at Busick and 24.2 inches at Mount Mitchell, USA Today reported on Saturday.
“Helene made landfall at about 11:10 p.m. ET Thursday near Perry, Florida, becoming the first known Category 4 storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since records began in 1851,” the article reported.
Aftermath: Aerial Footage Seen of Tampa Area After Hurricane Helene Passed Through
“The storm continued its push across western Kentucky on Saturday, and is expected to slowly move southeast, then east along the Kentucky-Tennessee border through the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said,” it continued.
CBS News reported on Saturday that 1,600 flights were cancelled as a result of the storm. The outlet showed video footage of major flooding in Florida and National Guardsmen airlifting people from a hospital roof in Tennessee as the floodwaters rose around the facility:
Per the Today article, Helene has reportedly caused billions of dollars in damage and economic loss.
More video footage shows the major destruction as first responders rescued people from what the storm left behind:
Tennessee is now on the list of states “under declarations of emergency,” making it eligible for federal funds to aid in recovery, Reuters said.