Helene ravages 5 states, leaves at least 50 dead and millions without power

Helene made landfall Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region as a record-breaking Category 4 hurricane. It hit the state with 140 mph winds and ultimately blew through five states, flattening communities and bringing life-threatening floods. Now, on Saturday morning, at least 50 deaths have been reported as a result of the storm, while NBC News reports nearly “3.3 million customers woke up without power in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Ohio.”

Meanwhile, more than 400 roads remain closed in Western North Carolina.

On Saturday morning, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Tennessee, among other states, after the remnants of Hurricane Helene are expected to stall over the region this weekend, bringing an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain on top of already-catastrophic flooding that has left swaths of the Southern United States underwater. “Although rainfall amounts will be light, areas that received excessive rainfall from Helene may see isolated aggression of excessive runoff,” the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg said Saturday morning.

This comes after about 100,000 residents were already urged to seek higher ground overnight as the Nolichucky Dam in Greene County — which is on the North Carolina border — was on the brink of “imminent breach,” according to USA Today.

Per CNN, National Guardsmen have already begun rescue efforts across Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, while the Biden administration has also mobilized more than 1,500 federal personnel to support communities affected by Helene.