All of the Warnings still don't/won't effect Casualties :
LIVE: 30 deaths reported amid catastrophic destruction, millions without power after monster Helene
Helene is the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States this year, and it will continue to produce life-threatening conditions as it moves inland over the Southeast with intense wind and flooding rain.
12 minutes ago
Hurricane Helene death toll climbs to 30, more likely
By Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor, Digital Content
Sep. 27, 2024 2:57 PM CDT
In one Florida county, five fatalities occurred in neighborhoods where evacuation orders had been issued, according to Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff of Pinellas County near St. Petersburg. He noted that some residents, who disregarded the warnings, ended up seeking refuge in their attics to escape the rising floodwaters.
"We attempted to deploy boats and high-water vehicles, but we encountered too many obstacles," Gualtieri explained. He also mentioned that the death toll might increase as emergency teams conduct door-to-door searches in the affected areas. “I can’t think of a time Pinellas County has ever experienced the kind of surge we experienced last night,” Gualtieri said in a morning news conference.
Around
1,500 emergency workers are focusing on search and rescue efforts, Florida’s top emergency management official said Friday. “As those sorts of rescue missions happen today, and continue, please do not go out and visit the impacted areas,” said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “I beg of you, do not get in their way.”
In Georgia, a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp says 11 people have died so far from causes related to Hurricane Helene,” according to
The Associated Press. Kemp added that the death toll includes a first responder.
Falling trees killed two people in Anderson County in the northwest part of South Carolina, according to
Fox Carolina.
Two more people died — and four more were injured — in Newberry County as a result of Hurricane Helene, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster told CNN.
North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said there had been two storm-related deaths in the state and he expected more.
A tree falling on a home is to blame for one of those deaths in Charlotte, according to
WSOC-TV. “The priority now is saving lives,” Cooper said, telling people to stay off the roads unless they were seeking higher ground.