Hurricane Helene kills at least 64 – as dozens rescued from hospital roof in 'dangerous operation'

At least 64 people have been killed after Hurricane Helene barrelled its way across the southeastern US, causing billions of dollars of destruction.

Emergency crews raced to rescue people trapped in flooded homes after Helene struck the coast of Florida as a highly destructive Category 4 hurricane.

It generated a massive storm surge, wreaking a trail of destruction extending hundreds of miles north.

NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, put the total at 65 deaths after a tree hit a house in Greenwood County, South Carolina.

Hundreds of thousands of customers remain without electricity, including more than 1.5 million in the Carolinas and more than 600,000 in Georgia.

Meanwhile, dozens of patients and staff have been rescued from the roof of a flooded East Tennessee hospital following a “dangerous rescue operation”.

Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty said more than 50 people are now safe after becoming stranded on the Unicoi County Hospital, which was engulfed in “extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water”, making a boat rescue too treacherous, according to Tennessee’s Ballad Health.

A police helicopter was ultimately able to land on the roof after other helicopters failed to reach the hospital due to the storm’s winds.

Hundreds of water rescues

It was one of hundreds of water rescues as North Carolina saw the worst flooding in a century and two feet (60cm) of rain fell on the town of Spruce Pine from Tuesday through to Saturday.

Atlanta was inundated by almost half that amount over 48 hours, the most the city has seen over two days since records began in 1878.

Helene struck late on Thursday night with maximum sustained winds of 140mph (225kph) in the rural Big Bend area, the northwestern part of Florida, where estimated water levels reached more than 15ft above ground in some areas.

US President Joe Biden approved emergency declaration requests from the governors of several southern states affected by Helene.

Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina are being supported by emergency response personnel including search and rescue teams, medical support staff and engineering experts.

‘Like a bomb went off’

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said on Saturday it “looks like a bomb went off” after viewing the widespread destruction wrought on the state by the storm from the air.

Dozens of people were trapped in damaged buildings, he said, and multiple hospitals in the south of the state were without power.

Western North Carolina was isolated because of landslides and flooding that forced the closure of Interstate 40 and other roads.

People living near the inland Lake Lure Dam were told to get to higher ground immediately, as officials warned of “imminent dam failure”.

Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the damage from Helene “demoralising”.

Many stranded in places like Tampa could only be reached by boat, with officials warning the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.

Why this hurricane season is defying forecasts

Tom Clarke

Science and technology editor

@t0mclark3

Despite Helene’s power, this hurricane season has been more remarkable for its lack of activity.

At the start of the hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, sea surface temperatures were (and remain) off-the-charts warm.

It’s this ocean heat that fuels tropical storms.

This combined with a developing La Nina phenomenon led the US forecasters to predict 2024 would be a major hurricane season. Between 17 and 24 storms were expected, with eight to 13 developing into hurricanes.

Hurricane Beryl grazed the coast of Jamaica in July as a Category 5 hurricane. It was the earliest storm of that size ever recorded and was seen as a harbinger of the prediction. But, so far at least, it’s failed to materialise.

There have been just six hurricanes so far this year – slightly below average. But why?

It seems to be due to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic where ocean warming forced the African monsoon further north than usual.

This led to catastrophic flooding in central and west Africa displacing millions, but it also shifted the weather system that usually spawns hurricanes and spins them across the Atlantic.

There’s already abundant evidence our warming oceans and atmosphere are making storms more intense – but predicting where they will occur and how often is never simple – and perhaps getting even harder as our planet gets hotter.

Warning issued to anyone not leaving

Prior to the hurricane making landfall, officials in Florida begged residents to evacuate. The sheriff’s office in rural Taylor County issued a chilling warning to those who refused to leave.

“Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so that you can be identified and family notified,” the post on Facebook said.

The storm, now a post-tropical cyclone, was expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday, the National Hurricane Centre said.

Several flood and flash flood warnings remained in effect in parts of the southern and central Appalachians, while high wind warnings also covered parts of Tennessee and Ohio.