Hurricane Helene Kills More Than 40 people, Causes Catastrophic Flooding In Southeast -- CBS News

Alex Sundby, Tom Hanson, Brian Dakss, David Yeomans -- CBS News

Sept. 28, 2024 12:06 AM EDT

The remnants of Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the Southeast on Friday after crashing ashore in Florida's Big Bend area the night before as a dangerous Category 4 storm.

Helene was blamed for dozens of deaths in several states after inundating areas with what the National Hurricane Center described as historic and catastrophic flooding.

Despite weakening to a post-tropical cyclone, it was still causing "catastrophic, historic" flooding in the southern Appalachians late Friday night, the hurricane center said.  

In Tennessee, floodwaters forced dozens of people at a hospital to flee to the roof to be rescued. Unicoi County Hospital was "engulfed by extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water," Ballad Health said on social media. By late Friday afternoon, the hospital's personnel and patients were rescued, according to Ballad Health.

At least 45 deaths have been attributed to Helene. A spokesperson for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said 15 people were killed in the state. A first responder was among the dead, Kemp said earlier Friday.

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