Emergency crews are rushing to rescue people trapped in flooded homes after Helene roared ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane in Florida, generating a massive storm surge and knocking out power to millions of customers. At least 25 people were reported dead in four states.
Tennessee: The storm, now a tropical depression, was causing a “dangerous rescue situation” to unfold in northeast Tennessee on Friday as 54 people were moved to the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital while water rapidly flooded the facility, according to Ballad Health.
The company said on social media that county officials ordered an evacuation of the hospital Friday morning due to rising water in the Nolichucky River, including 11 patients.
Boats ordered up by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were unable to safely evacuate the hospital, which was taking on flood water, the company said. The winds also were too high for helicopters to fly in for rescues, the company added.
As of midday, Ballad reported that 54 people were relocated to the roof and seven remained in rescue boats as the hospital was engulfed by “extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water.”
“The situation at the hospital is very dangerous and TEMA and National Guard resources are engaged in what can only be described as a dangerous rescue operation,” Ballad wrote, asking for prayers.
South Carolina: Four people were killed overnight by falling trees in Greenville County, bringing the death toll in Hurricane Helene to 13 in South Carolina.
Greenville County Senior Deputy Coroner Shelton England confirmed the deaths Friday afternoon. He said more information would be released later..
During the storm four people were killed in Aiken County, three people in Spartanburg County and two people in Anderson County, authorities said.
Florida: Some bridge lanes connecting barrier island communities on Florida’s Gulf Coast started reopening on Friday.
The northbound lanes of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge connecting the St. Petersburg area to the Bradenton area were opened Friday afternoon, though southbound lanes remained closed for cleaning up debris and assessing damage, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Southbound lanes of the Howard Frankland Bridge connecting the Tampa area with the St. Petersburg area also were opened to traffic, while northbound lanes were still being inspected and cleared of debris.
The Courtney Campbell Causeway connecting Hillsborough and Pinellas counties remained closed because of debris.
The bridge “took on heavy debris, washout, and roadway damage,” the agency said in a statement. “Bridge inspectors and maintenance clean-up crews are still on-site doing their best to clear the roadway and open it back up to motorists.”
North Carolina: People living on about 30 streets in a western North Carolina county were ordered Friday to evacuate as water from Tropical Storm Helene overtopped the entire length of a dam in a town best known for the 1980s movie “Dirty Dancing.”
There is no indication, however, that the Lake Lure Dam is about to fail, state Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson Kat Russell said Friday.
Russell didn’t know how many people lived on the 29 streets within what she called the dam inundation area within Rutherford County, where Lake Lure and the town of the same name are located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Asheville.
The lake flows into the Broad River and was created nearly 100 years ago. The dam is listed as 480 feet (146 meters) long and about 120 feet (36.6 meters) high.
Russell said there is some erosion on one side of the dam caused by the overtopping. Town officials are monitoring it, she said.
Downstream communities have been made aware of the overtopping but have been told they would have several hours to alert residents to their own evacuations if needed, Russell said. The North Carolina and South Carolina state agencies also have received emergency action plans if conditions worsen.
Waters in the iconic lake were used to film scenes for the movie “Dirty Dancing,” transforming Lake Lure into upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains.
Georgia: An electrical utility group is warning of “catastrophic” damage to Georgia’s utility infrastructure by Hurricane Helene.
The Georgia Electric Membership Corp., which represents the state’s electric cooperatives, says that the hurricane damaged more than 100 high-voltage transmission lines and that more than 60 substations were out of service Friday morning.
Without transmission lines and substations, the cooperatives can’t feed electricity to homes and businesses. The group warned Friday that “there will be extensive delays in total restoration” and told customers, especially those who rely on electric power for medical needs, to make temporary arrangements.
Of the more than 1 million Georgia electricity customers without power on Friday afternoon, more than 400,000 were customers of cooperatives. Restoration for customers of those utilities in rural areas can take much longer because customers are far apart.
About Helene: Tropical Storm Helene was downgraded to a tropical depression by forecasters on Friday afternoon.
The storm was located about 125 miles (201 km) southeast of Louisville, Kentucky, and was moving toward the north-northwest at about 28 mph (44 kph). The storm was forecast to stall over the Tennessee Valley Friday night and through the weekend. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts.
Forecasters said Helene was expected to become extratropical later in the day.