At least 55 dead after Hurricane Helene batters the South with deadly tornado, monstrous flooding and Tennessee dam break imminent

Helene, which has since weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, killed at least 55 people in five states as the storm lashed the South with record storm surges and a tornado.

Helene is hovering mainly over Tennessee and Kentucky, although the edges of the storm are lashing parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

The center predicted that the storm would pass’today to tomorrow‘ across the Tennessee Valley.

And with the heavy rain easing, the center said it would stop publishing hourly updates on Helene.

But devastating photos show the horrific damage Helene has caused in recent days, with the most pressing issue right now being an overloaded dam in Tennessee.

Initially, authorities were not sure the dam would hold

But so far the dam is still intact, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority

The Nolichucky Dam in eastern Tennessee, intended to tame the flow of the Nolichucky River, saw more than 30,000 cubic feet of water flow per second since about 22 hours ago, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

Based on that figure, the amount of water in an Olympic swimming pool flowed through the small dam every three seconds.

Authorities responded by issuing a flash flood warning for Cocke, Greene and Hamblen counties, an emergency that was extended until noon eastern time, according to the sources. CNN.

About 5,800 residents and two schools were immediately affected by the dam’s overflow.

In an update Saturday morning, TVA said the river had been logged and the dam remained intact.

‘The water is currently dropping about one meter per hour. Our Dam Safety Teams are assessing the condition of the dam to determine next steps,” the agency announced. ‘We estimate that water levels are 2.5 meters above record highs.’

This is what Helene looked like on the evening of September 27, a day after the hurricane made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane

This graph shows the areas that are more susceptible to flooding this weekend

The storm, which made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, has been responsible for more than 50 reported deaths in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

At least 19 deaths have been reported in South Carolina, including two firefighters in Saluda County.

George Satcher, 53, and Landon Bodie, who was just 18 years old, responded to a call Friday morning and were killed when a tree fell on their fire truck. News19 reported.

“It’s a reminder that these first responders put their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens they serve,” said David Jones of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

In Georgia, officials say the death toll has risen to 15, with two people killed after being swept up in a tornado in Alamo.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said 11 people have died in his state so far, including several people who drowned in Pinellas County.

North Carolina reported six more deaths. Among them was a four-year-old girl who died in a car accident caused by wet roads.

As of Saturday morning, more than 400 roads are closed across the state North Carolina Department of Transportation.

In Craig County, Virginia, one person died as a result of a tree falling on the structure they were in, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.

Another person died when high winds sent a chicken coop flying before it landed on her. WDBJ 7 reported.

Meanwhile, many scenes in Florida appear apocalyptic.

Dozens of boats washed up on the streets of Treasure Island, Florida

Horseshoe Beach, Florida, was a particularly hard-hit area, with entire city blocks reduced to rubble

Dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed after Helene made landfall

Survivors Tammy Bryan, left, hugs fellow resident Jennifer Lange amid the devastation in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Horseshoe Beach on Saturday, September 28

Take Treasure Island, a town near Tampa, where dozens of boats have washed up on the streets.

Treasure Island has an elevation of 3 feet above sea level, which was no match for the approximately 8-foot storm surge seen in the Tampa Bay area.

The further you go along the west coast of Florida, the damage gets worse.

Horseshoe Beach, a northern town much closer to where Helene landed, saw homes and businesses in ruins.

Traumatized citizens cried as they saw entire blocks blasted by the storm, leaving behind nothing but planks of wood and other debris.

Cedar Key, just south of Horseshoe Beach, was also hit hard.

Michael Bobbitt, 48, was among those who decided to stay behind.

“We feel pretty let down here in Cedar Key. When we fought this at night, as bad as we thought it would be, it’s much worse in the daylight.

“Cedar Key as we know it is completely gone,” he said The New York Times.

‘Entire houses have been picked up and moved. To reach them we had to go through three feet of water. The post office has been destroyed.’

Matthew Harris leans on the bed of his truck after Hurricane Helene destroyed the home where he lived in Steinhatchee, Florida

This North Carolina supermarket is limiting the number of packs of water bottles a customer can buy at a time

The difficulty of getting resources to people who need them, such as food and water, is still an acute problem in North Carolina.

Certain supermarkets have imposed limits on the amount of water a customer can purchase to prevent shortages.

Governor Roy Cooper called Helene “one of the worst storms in modern history” for the state.

Cooper said more than 100 people had to be rescued from high water. And the particularly hard-hit city of Asheville is under a curfew until 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

According to figures, about 3.5 million people in ten states in the South and Midwest are still without electricity poweroutage.us.

Helene comes just under two months after Hurricane Debby made landfall in much the same region of Florida as Helene.

Debby was a Category 1, so not nearly as strong, but a preliminary analysis from AccuWeather estimates it caused $28 billion in damage and economic loss.