More than 50 dead amid Hurricane Helene devastation

Authorities on Saturday described widespread destruction and chaos in the southeastern United States less than two days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm. As of Saturday afternoon, the Associated Press was reporting at least 52 storm-related deaths. The storm hit the Florida coast with winds clocked at roughly 140 mph. From there, it moved north into Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. Across it's path, the storm dumped massive amounts of rainfall, prompting flooding and landslides. As of 3 p.m. on Saturday, roughly 3.4 million residents were without power in Florida, Georgia, both Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, according to PowerOutage.us.

In North Carolina: Gov. Roy Cooper issued a formal request Saturday that 38 counties as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians be declared a major disaster area. Such a declaration would open those areas up to federal public and individual assistance. Images Saturday showed massive amounts of flooding in the western part of the state, which was cut off from the rest of the state due to landslides and rain that closed Interstate 40, according to the Associated Press. In Haywood County, authorities said access to phone service was completely down and urged anyone with an emergency to head to the nearest fire department or police station rather than try to call 911. The town of Asheville was hit particularly hard, with images showing massive flooding in the neighborhood of Biltmore Village.

WORLD’s headquarters is located in the Biltmore Village area and suffered major damage. Andrew Belz, major gifts officer for WORLD, reported that both buildings had suffered several feet of flooding and windows had burst in at least one building. 

In South Carolina: Images shared by local media showed numerous trees and power lines down as well as widespread flooding. At least 19 are dead in South Carolina due to the storm, making Helene the deadliest storm to hit the state since Hurricane Hugo killed 35 there in 1989, according to reporting by the Associated Press. The dead included two volunteer firefighters who were killed when a tree fell on their vehicle, according to the U.S. First Responders Association. More than 1 million residents were still without power as of Saturday afternoon.

In Georgia: Utility crews were still fighting to restore power to parts of Georgia, as well, where more than 500,000 were still in the dark, according to Georgia Power.  Treacherous conditions remained across the state, and crews were attempting to navigate tree damage, heavy flooding, and road closures to restore power, according to the utility company. The company estimated that there were thousand of broker power poles and miles of downed powerlines that required replacement. 

As of Saturday afternoon, the storm was classified as a post-tropical cyclone and was forecast to stall over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday.