Hurricane Helene kills at least 40 - dozens trapped on roof of flooded Tennessee hospital

At least 40 people were killed in four states after Hurricane Helene ripped through the southeastern United States.

Rescue workers are racing to save people trapped in flooded homes after Helene reached the coast Florida as a highly destructive Category 4 storm.

It unleashed a massive storm surge and left a trail of destruction that stretched hundreds of kilometers north.

Millions are without power in Florida and neighboring states.

Meanwhile, dozens of people are trapped on the roof of a flooded building Tennessee Hospital, a “dangerous rescue operation” is underway.

Ballad Health of Tennessee says Unicoi County Hospital is inundated with “extremely dangerous and fast-moving water.”

It said 54 people were moved to the roof of Unicoi County Hospital and seven were in lifeboats.

“The situation at the hospital is very dangerous and TEMA (The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency) and National Guard resources are involved in a rescue operation that can only be described as dangerous,” Ballad Health added.

Local official Michael Baker told Sky News that people were being removed from the roof “gradually” and described the flooding as “unprecedented”.

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

By early afternoon, Helene, which had been downgraded to a tropical depression, was blowing with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (55 km/h) as it slowed over Tennessee and Kentucky, the National Hurricane Center said.

It occurred overnight with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) in the rural area of Big Bend, northwest Florida.

The National Hurricane Center said preliminary information showed water levels in that region reached more than 15 feet above ground level.

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

GeorgiaFlorida, AlabamaNorth Carolina and South Carolina are supported by emergency personnel, including search and rescue teams, medical support personnel and technical experts.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said dozens of people were trapped in buildings damaged by the storm and several hospitals in southern Georgia were without power.

In western North Carolina, Rutherford County emergency officials have urged residents near Lake Lure Dam to immediately evacuate to higher ground, warning that a dam failure is imminent.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the damage from Helene to the area appeared to be greater than the total damage from Idalia And Hurricane Debby in August. “It’s demoralizing,” he said.

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

According to the logging website PowerOutage, more than four million properties are without power in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio.

Why this hurricane season is exceeding all forecasts

Tom Clarke

Editor for science and technology

@t0mclark3

Despite Helene's strength, this hurricane season has been characterized by a lack of activity.

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

It is this ocean heat that fuels tropical storms.

Combined with a developing La Nina phenomenon, US forecasters expected a major hurricane season to occur in 2024. Between 17 and 24 storms were expected, with eight to 13 developing into hurricanes.

Hurricane Beryl hit the coast of Jamaica in July as a Category 5 hurricane. It was the earliest storm of this magnitude ever recorded and was considered a harbinger of the forecast. But at least so far it hasn't happened.

There have only been six hurricanes so far this year, which is slightly below average. But why?

It appears to be due to what's happening on the other side of the Atlantic, where warming oceans pushed the African monsoon further north than usual.

This led to catastrophic flooding in central and western Africa, displacing millions of people, but it also altered the weather system that normally spawns hurricanes and hurls them across the Atlantic.

There is already plenty of evidence that warming oceans and atmosphere are making storms more intense – but predicting where and how often they will occur is never easy – and may become even more difficult as our planet gets hotter.

Before the hurricane made landfall, officials in Florida pleaded with 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 with a permanent marker so you can be identified and your family notified,” the post on Facebook said.