Catastrophic Impacts from Hurricane Helene Across the Southeast

INFORMATION UPDATE:   

Catastrophic Impacts from Hurricane Helene Across the Southeast 

September 29, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET 

Historic flooding has inundated towns in western North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Helene. Roads are closed, communications are strained, and entire communities are cut off.

Photo by: American Red Cross North Carolina Region

Hurricane Helene made landfall on Thursday evening in Perry, Florida as an extremely powerful Category 4 storm, the strongest to ever hit Florida’s Big Bend Region. Helene was described by the National Hurricane Center as the “upper bound” of all storm sizes ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. The massive storm created a path of destruction far beyond the initial landfall location in Florida – wreckage from Helene is being experienced across 10 states, spanning some 800 miles, and impacting millions.

• Across the Southeast, Helene leveled entire communities, destroyed homes and businesses, damaged hospitals, schools, power lines and roadways. In many areas, people have no food, no power, no connectivity and little fuel to fill their vehicles.
• The threat isn’t over for many communities. In some areas, floodwaters remain high and flash flood warnings are still in effect

Tragically, the most severe devastation from Helene, is actually happening hundreds of miles north of where the storm made landfall in western North Carolina. Western North Carolina has been battered with more than two feet of rainfall along the Southern Appalachians. This historic rainfall has led to entire towns being cut off from everything as a result of flooding, landslides and mudslides, downed trees, and destroyed roadways. Search and rescue operations remain underway with this catastrophic event.  

The American Red Cross has launched a massive relief response to get help to where it is needed across a vast area covering hundreds of miles from Florida to West Virginia. In total, the Red Cross has established 10 disaster relief operations (DROs) across 10 different states.

• Nearly 1,400 disaster workers are on the ground across 10 states working with our partners to meet the urgent needs of those affected by providing safe shelter, food, emotional support and health services.
• Additional responders are on their way to support the various operations. 
• The Red Cross has deployed more than 45 emergency response vehicles (ERVs) to get help to where needed and about two dozen more are enroute. Where it is safe to do so, Red Cross disaster responders are aboard these vehicles, traveling throughout affected communities, assessing the damage and distributing meals and relief supplies.
• Overnight, the Red Cross managed or supported more than 70 shelters, providing safe refuge following Helene for over 2,000 people.
• More than half of the total Red Cross shelter population is in North Carolina, with additional increases expected in the days to come.
• Our disaster teams know there is a critical need for the people in the impacted communities, with more than 5,500 calls coming into 1 800 REDCROSS in the past 24 hours, with a significant amount of that call volume focused on reunification services.

Hurricane Helene is the cause for the widespread damage and devastation across the Southeast, but the specific impacts vary by state.

North Carolina and South Carolina 

The situation in the Carolinas is catastrophic and the Red Cross, local emergency teams, and our partners are all focused on providing lifesaving and life-sustaining mass care services. The more than two feet of rainfall that fell on western North Carolina has resulted in flash flooding, rivers overflowing, and landslides and mudslides. The flowing river waters have taken out entire communities such as Chimney Rock, NC, destroyed nearly 70 major roadways and some 230 secondary roadways, and isolated towns along the Swannanoa River. With these areas inaccessible by road, FEMA and local emergency managers are working to build an “air bridge” to get critical resources to Buncombe County and the surrounding areas.

• Communication with these areas is extremely limited – over the weekend, cellular services were down, and internet access was spotty.
• Nearly 1.4 million customers, more than 4 million people, are without power along North Carolina and South Carolina. With so much debris down from the storms, it will take significant time to access the areas and prolonged power outages (over a week) are expected in many areas.

• In addition to the lifesaving services being executed by state and local partners, the Red Cross is focused on increasing our shelter footprint to meet the immense need. As of last night, there were more than 30 shelters with more than 1,000 individuals seeking refuge across North Carolina and South Carolina.
• Additional mass care services such as food, health and mental health services, and relief supplies, will all be crucial to this operation and will be ramped up over the coming days after the immediate needs of these communities are met.

Florida

Hurricane Helene made a direct hit to Florida’s Big Bend region and caused storm surges of up to 20 feet in the panhandle communities. Further south, Helene’s impact was felt , where there were also storm surges of more than 8 feet in Tampa – a historic amount for the area. The surge has led to standing water in homes, with some areas reporting as much as 4 feet of flood water. Hurricane force winds were also felt along the coastal communities, knocking down trees and power lines. Counties of greatest impact so far include Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Madison, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Taylor. Red Cross teams will continues gathering intel and will ensure that all pockets of damage have been identified.

• As the Red Cross has transitioned from pre-landfall evacuation shelters to post-landfall shelters, the population has stabilized. Overnight, there more than 25 shelters open in Florida, with over 700 individuals.
• In addition to the shelters for Hurricane Helene, there are still 10 shelters with more than 120 people in Red Cross shelters from Hurricane Idalia last August. The repetitive loss for communities along Florida’s Big Bend region has been unrelenting.
• Disaster teams are out in communities distributing food and relief supplies along mobile routes, bringing services directly to the people in need.

Georgia

Helene barreled into Georgia as a Category 2 hurricane, destroying homes, knocking out trees and powerlines causing entire cities to lose power, and leaving many roads impassable. Communications have started to improve, but there are numerous counties that are still struggling to make contact. Two areas of focus for the Red Cross and local emergency manages include Richmond and Treutlen counties, where the counties infrastructure is severely damaged. In Richmond County, the counties water has been shut off and will be off for the next 48 hours. In Treutlen County, the infrastructure is not functional, and hospital services are impacted.

• Where it’s safe to do so, Red Cross teams have traveled into communities to collect initial damage assessments and provide feeding. Responders have identified Valdosta, GA in Lowndes County and Augusta, GA in Richmond County as areas of major need.
• Additional damage has been found in Butts, Camden, Coffee, Echols, Lanier, and Pierce counties.

• The Red Cross has more than 20 emergency response vehicles (ERVs) traveling across 10 counties today, to provide food and relief supplies. With additional communities getting communication services, the needs from this operation are anticipated to increase, specifically with feeding.
• Overnight, there were 8 shelters opened, with more than 230 disaster survivors receiving Red Cross care.

Tennessee

Portions of northeastern Tennessee experienced torrential rainfall and flash flooding from Hurricane Helene. Communities near the North Carolina and Tennessee border, along the Southern Appalachians, have been forced to flee their homes, as river waters rise, and dams along the Nolichucky River were on the brink of failure. While the waters have started to recede on Sunday, this remains a volatile situation that could fluctuate.

• To support those who have been impacted by the flooding, the Red Cross had 8 shelters open overnight in Tennessee with some 100 people seeking safe refuge.

Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia

Due to the massive size of Hurricane Helene, the outer bands of the storm were strong enough to produce heavy rainfall, damaging winds, and flood threats. The Red Cross has established disaster relief operations across the five states and will be working with local emergency managers and partners to determine the resources needed to support the communities impacted. To date, there have been nearly 30 shelter stays at 4 shelters.

This past week’s efforts are just the beginning. It will take days to understand the full scope and magnitude of the destruction, especially in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. For those who come to our shelters, many are at a complete loss and don't know where to turn or the next step to take. We're holding hands and providing help through this process – no one should have to face this devastation alone.

We are also working closely with officials to transition to more longer-term shelters with robust services closer to those communities that suffered the heaviest damage to homes. Our goal is to make this transition as smooth as possible for people needing shelter. The Red Cross remains committed to working with local officials and community partners to help throughout the response and recovery process.

Please continue to let us know if there are any unmet needs or if assistance is needed in connecting with the Red Cross representatives with your local affiliates.

Also, please let us know how you are responding so that we can keep our local responders informed and connected.

Thanks for partnering with us.