Helene Aftermath Remains Scary As Death Toll Rises, Crisis In Appalachians, Tens Of Billions In Damage

Flood destruction from Helene in North Carolina. 

 The death toll keeps rising from wide-ranging Hurricane Helene, with the latest figure being around 52 people. 

Unfortunately, this toll will rise, as searches are continuing. This is especially true up in North Carolina and parts of Tennessee, where flood waters haven't yet subsided enough to do any thorough searches. 

Electronic road signs on the edge of the worst disaster zone read "DO NOT TRAVEL IN WESTERN NC" 

Areas of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee are the scariest as of Saturday morning and early afternoon. Pretty much all the roads in the region are closed and in many cases destroyed. That makes it hard to rescue people, and sadly, find bodies.

There are plenty of unconfirmed reports of people who climbed onto roofs, only to be swept away when the structures collapsed beneath them. There are so many back roads and hollows that nobody can get to, so we don't know what's going on.

In Asheville, most of the city had no electricity, internet service, cell service or running water. The news out of the southern Appalachians is going to keep getting more and more grim in the coming days, I fear. 

Emergency responders were overwhelmed, too. Buncombe County 911 fielded 3,300 calls within eight hours on Friday.

Meanwhile, damage assessments are only beginning to be thought of.  Moody's Analytics said it expects anywhere from $15 billion to $26 billion in damages from Helene, reports the Associated Press. I've seen other estimates that are even higher. 

Rainfall totals were extreme, to say the least. Busick, North Carolina reported 39.58 inches. Mount Mitchell State Park has 24.5 inches, Sumatra, Florida 15.5 inches and Dillard, Georgia 14 inches. 

Atlanta had 11.12 inches with 48 hours, the biggest two day total since record keeping began there in 1878.  Asheville, North Carolina collected over 12 inches of rain. 

Some radar estimates indicate 30 to 40 inches of rain fell on some of the Smokey Mountains. 

At one point, 4.3 million homes and businesses were without power due to Helene. 

Helene made landfall late Thursday night in the Big Bend area of Florida, an area that has become pretty luckless in terms of hurricanes lately. It was the third hurricane to strike there in the past 13 months, with Helene being the strongest of the bunch.

Three of the last five hurricanes to strike the United States hit the Big Bend, according to The Weather Channel.  

 The rain and wind have tapered off. Aside from possible dam failures, the risk of new flooding has largely ended, as the remains of Helene have finally faded to something tame. 

There's no threat of a new hurricane strike on the United States for at least a week. But it's still hurricane season, so the threat of another one of these monsters isn't over yet for the year. 

Videos:

This video shows a house floating downstream and collapsing in Asheville, North Carolina. Click on this link to view, or click on image below if you see it. 

Next video shows all the challenges of even trying to get around Boone and Blowing Rock, in the mountains of North Carolina, during Friday's Helene calamity. Again, click on this link to view or if you see image below click on that.

Drone video captured a bridge collapsing Friday in Greene County, Tennessee on Friday. As always, click on this link to view or if you see image below, click on that.