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A minimum of 33 dead as Helene cuts devastating path through southeastern US

Tropical Anxiety Helene brought lifethreatening flooding on Friday to broad sections of the U.S. Southeast, where at least 33 individuals have been eliminated by a storm that overloaded communities, activated mudslides, threatened dams and left more than 4 million homes and services without power.

In Tennessee, fears that a dam would stop working near the city of Newport prompted officials to purchase the evacuation of the downtown area. Another dam in North Carolina was on the brink of failure.

Before moving north through Georgia and into Tennessee and the Carolinas, Helene struck Florida's Huge Bend region as a. effective Classification 4 cyclone on Thursday at 11:10 p.m. ET (0310. GMT on Friday) packing 140 miles per hour (225 kph) winds. It left behind a. chaotic landscape of overturned boats in harbors, felled trees,. submerged cars and flooded streets.

Since early Friday afternoon, the storm had been reduced. to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour. ( 55 kph), the National Typhoon Center stated.

But Helene's heavy rains were still producing devastating. flooding in many areas, with authorities and firefighters bring. out thousands of water saves throughout the affected states.

More than 50 people were caught on the roof of a health center. at midday on Friday in Unicoi County, Tennessee, about 120 miles. northeast of Knoxville, as floodwaters overloaded the rural. neighborhood. State authorities later on said those individuals were securely. rescued.

Increasing waters from the Nolichucky River were preventing. ambulances and emergency cars from leaving clients and. others there, the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency stated. on social media. Emergency teams in boats and helicopters were. conducting saves.

Somewhere else in Tennessee, Rob Mathis, the mayor of Cocke. County, wrote on social networks that the Walters dam has actually suffered. a disastrous failure which the downtown area of the nearby. city of Newport, with 36,000 people, would evacuate.

However, the Tennessee Emergency Management Firm composed on. social networks that the Walters dam, which is located just throughout. state lines in North Carolina, had actually not failed. The agency said. that info came from Duke Energy, which operates the dam.

Madison McDonald, a Duke Energy representative, said, we are. aware of the circumstance and we're sorting out the facts.

In western North Carolina, Rutherford County emergency. authorities warned residents near the Lake Lure Dam to right away. leave to higher ground, saying Dam failure impending.

In neighboring Buncombe County, landslides required interstates 40. and 26 to close, the county said on X.

The level of the damage in Florida started emerging after. daybreak.

In seaside Steinhatchee, a storm surge - the wall of. seawater pressed ashore by winds - of 8 to 10 feet (2.4-3. meters) moved mobile homes, the NWS stated on X. In Treasure. Island, a barrier island community in Pinellas County, boats. were grounded in front lawns.

The city of Tampa published on X that emergency situation workers had. completed 78 water rescues of citizens and that lots of roadways were. blockaded due to the fact that of flooding. The Pasco County sheriff's. workplace rescued more than 65 people over night.

Authorities had pleaded with citizens in Helene's path to. hearken evacuation orders, explaining the storm rise as. unsurvivable, as NHC Director Michael Brennan warned.

Some citizens had actually stubbornly stayed put.

Ken Wood, 58, a state ferry boat operator in Pinellas. County, said he should have followed evacuation orders rather than. riding out the storm at home with his 16-year-old cat, Andy.

I'll never ever do that once again, I swear, Wood stated. It was a. harrowing experience. It roared all night like a train. It was. unnerving. Your house shook.

Down the hill from his house, the storm flooded some homes. with chest-deep seawater. One home ignited and burned. down, shooting 30-foot flames in the stormy sky, he stated.

Old Andy appeared like he didn't care, Wood stated. He did. fine. However next time we leave.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said first responders. were unable to respond to a number of emergency calls from citizens. overnight due to the conditions. On Friday, county authorities. found at least 5 individuals dead.

Two other individuals in Florida died, Governor Ron DeSantis. validated. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp cited 11 storm-related. fatalities in his state so far, while North Carolina Guv. Roy Cooper stated there had actually been 2 deaths there.

At least 13 individuals had died during the storm throughout South. Carolina, the Charleston-based Post and Carrier newspaper. reported, citing local authorities.

Helene was uncommonly large for a Gulf hurricane, forecasters. stated, though a storm's size is not the same as its strength,. which is based on optimum continual wind speeds.

A couple of hours before landfall, Helene's tropical-storm winds. extended outward 310 miles (500 km), according to the National. Typhoon Center. By comparison, Idalia, another significant typhoon. that struck Florida's Huge Bend region in 2015, had. tropical-storm winds extending 160 miles (260 km) about eight. hours before it made landfall.

More than 4.6 million homes and services lacked. power midday on Friday in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and. other states, according to the tracking website Poweroutage.us.

(source: Reuters)