Helene aftermath: At least 52 dead, severe flood risk remains

( NewsNation ) — The worst of Helene’s storm is behind, but the aftermath troubles much of the southeastern U.S. with at least 52 people dead and millions without power days after the former hurricane’s landfall.

Now considered a post-tropical cyclone, Helen’s catastrophic flooding remains a concern as it moves east toward Kentucky and Tennessee.

A major dam in northeast Tennessee collapsed around 7:11 a .m. ET, according to an alert from the National Water Prediction Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Early Saturday morning, the National Weather Service warned of an “imminent breach” of the Nolichucky Dam on the Nolichucky River, urging immediate evacuation. The area is about 70 miles northeast of the tourist town of Pigeon Forge. A flash flood warning is in effect until noon ET.

“Move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the flash flood warning said. “Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”

The Category 4 hurricane reached wind speeds up to 140 mph as it made landfall Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region.

Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia experienced heavy rainfall and severe flooding on Friday, and each governor declared a state of emergency to receive federal assistance.

Multiple deaths across five states have been attributed to drowning, while some were the result of downed trees. State officials say dozens more are still trapped inside their homes, The Associated Press reports at least two died from a suspected tornado in Georgia.

As Helene continues to move eastward, the amount of rainfall will decrease.

“Most of the rainfall across the central and southern Appalachians has come to an end, although a few lingering showers are possible through Saturday,” the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory .

Several flood warnings remain in effect across the southeast.

Some of the worst destruction occurred in the storm’s center in Florida’s Big Bend region and South Georgia. But inland cities like Atlanta and Asheville were not shielded from the storm’s impact.

Within 48 hours, Atlanta received a record 11.62 inches of rain, according to the National Hurricane Center’s Weather Prediction Center data . Asheville received 13.15 inches of rain.

Tornadoes also hit some areas, including one in Nash County, North Carolina, critically injuring four people, according to the AP.

Around 3.8 million people are without electricity on Saturday; the majority of which are in South Carolina, with just over 1 million. Florida’s emergency services worked speedily, lowering the number of outages to 480,000.

The entire community in Taylor County, Florida, still does not have power. Andrew Morgan, the county’s emergency management public information officer, said crews have worked tirelessly to clear 90% of all major roads, and once the roads are clear, they can begin fixing power lines.

“We’re going to continue to just move forward and clear out the debris and keep searching and we’ll get back to where we were before this,” Morgan said.

Moody’s Analytics, a company that analyzes economic research, estimates up to $26 billion in property damage caused by Helene.

Valdosta, Georgia, was directly hit. A 135-year-old shopping mall, which housed over 50 businesses, was torn apart brick by brick. The owner told NewsNation that rebuilding is not an option.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will tour the damage in Valdosta sometime Saturday.

“The winds were really, really strong and picked up a lot of trees … motorcycles, cars were moving around,” said Valdosta resident Vonquez Garland. “Houses were shaking. It’s a lot of oak trees completely out of the ground.”

“When I woke up, there was stuff everywhere. I ain’t never seen anything like this, not since the last time (Hurricane Idalia in 2023), but this one was worse,” said Valdosta-area resident Rodrick Steward.

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