Helene Archives

Soul-searching and regret over unheeded warnings follow Helene’s destruction

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Before Hurricane Helene’s landfall last week the National Weather Service began an all-out blitz to alert emergency planners, first responders and residents of the impending perils. They predicted dangerous weather as far inland as the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Smartphones buzzed and warnings blared with such phrases as “URGENT,” “life threatening” and “catastrophic.” Forecasts consistently called for high winds and record flooding. But the warnings weren’t enough to forestall a still-rising death toll of at least 215 across six states. Devastated homeowners and officials alike are now wondering whether more could have been done to sound the alarms.… Continue Reading

The search for the missing hits snags at every corner as Helene’s death toll tops 200

PENSACOLA, N.C. (AP) — Searchers are combing the remote mountains of North Carolina to locate the missing and those needing supplies nearly a week after Hurricane Helene barreled through the Southeast. The death toll has surpassed 200 and could rise higher still. Rescue crews and volunteers are just now trying to get to the hardest-to-reach places and finding mudslides, downed trees and washed out roads at every turn. Some are using canoes, horses and all-terrain vehicles to get past. Helene is now the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina. President Joe Biden is touring the disaster zones in Georgia and Florida.… Continue Reading

Florida communities hit three times by hurricanes grapple with how and whether to rebuild

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Brooke Hiers just a month ago left the state-issued emergency trailer where her family had lived after Hurricane Idalia slammed into her home on Florida’s Gulf Coast in August of 2023. Then Hurricane Helene crashed ashore. For the third time in 13 months, a 50-mile sliver of the state’s vast coastline took a direct hit from a hurricane. Hurricane Debby also had struck in August 2024. The hits in the windswept stretch of Florida’s Big Bend are forcing residents to reckon with the costs of living in an area under siege by storms that researchers say are becoming stronger because of climate change.… Continue Reading

Harris, Biden take in Helene’s destruction in separate visits to Carolinas, Georgia

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — President Joe Biden has flow over toppled trees, twisted metal and towering piles of debris in the normally tourist friendly downtown of Asheville, North Carolina. He’s taking a tour Wednesday by helicopter of Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction. At the same time, Vice President Kamala Harris was getting her own look at the storm’s damage in Georgia. Both were seeking to demonstrate a larger commitment and competence in helping devastated communities after Donald Trump’s false claims about their administration’s response.… Continue Reading

Hospitals mostly rebound after Helene knocked out power and flooded areas

Hospitals and health care organizations in the Southeast largely stayed open and functioning during Hurricane Helene to provide essential care for their communities. But the massive system caused blackouts, wind damage, supply issues and flooding. Most hospitals used generators or backup systems to power their facilities. Providers, like their communities, are now in recovery phase. Health care workers are still unaccounted for in western North Carolina, where at least 57 people died in and around Asheville. Officials also say mental health care facilities were destroyed in that area. Health care executives say it’ll be a long road back to normal.… Continue Reading

North Carolina town that produces quartz needed for tech products is devastated by Helene

SPRUCE PINE, N.C. (AP) — Two North Carolina facilities that manufacture the high-purity quartz used for making semiconductors, solar panels and fiber optic cables have been shut down by Hurricane Helene. No reopening date is in sight. Sibelco and The Quartz Corp both shut down operations in the Appalachian town of Spruce Pine on Thursday. The town is home to mines that produce some of the world’s highest quality quartz. Since the storm, both companies have issued statements saying that their top priorities are making sure their employees are safe. Sibelco says some employees are “unreachable due to ongoing power outages and communication challenges.”… Continue Reading

Shock of deadly floods is a reminder of Appalachia’s risk from violent storms in a warming climate

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Helene dumped heavy rain on a mountainous region hundreds of miles away from the coast. Some residents who live in the Appalachian Mountains were surprised they faced such a severe threat from flooding — and climate change is making that threat worse. The landscape adds to the problem. Water runs down steep slopes into narrow, populated valleys. Some experts say federal flood maps underestimate flood risk in the region. The floods have killed dozens in North Carolina, breaking apart roads and destroying critical infrastructure.… Continue Reading

Helene’s flooding swept away 11 workers at a Tennessee factory. Now the state is investigating

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee state authorities are investigating the company behind a plastics factory where 11 workers were swept away by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson said Wednesday that the agency is investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics at the direction of the local prosecutor. Employees in the factory in the small community of Erwin asserted that they weren’t allowed to leave in time to avoid the storm’s impact. It wasn’t until water flooded into the parking lot and the power went out that the plant shut down and sent workers home. Several never made it.… Continue Reading

Hurricanes like Helene are deadly when they strike and keep killing for years to come

A new study says hurricanes in the United States are hundreds of times deadlier in the long run than the government calculates. In fact, the researchers say they contribute to more American deaths than car accidents or all the nation’s wars. Wednesday’s study says the average storm hitting the U.S. contributes to the early deaths of 7,000 to 11,000 people over a 15-year period. That dwarfs the average of 24 immediate and direct deaths that the government counts in a hurricane’s aftermath. Study authors said even with Hurricane Helene’s growing triple digit direct death count, far more people will die in future years in part because of Helene’s effects.… Continue Reading

Helene makes landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 hurricane

CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene has made landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm as forecasters warn of “catastrophic” flooding along the Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center says Helene came ashore Thursday evening in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Officials have forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Florida’s Apalachee Bay. Hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extend far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia have all declared emergencies in their states.… Continue Reading