Honduras Honduras experienced heavy rains as a result of the
Central American gyre which preceded Helene. As a result, the
Goascorán River brought flooding to nearby communities located in low-lying areas through
Valle and
Choluteca departments, reaching a level over . A state of emergency was issued in
San Marcos de Colón, Choluteca, due to overall damage caused by the storm. Nearly 30 homes were estimated to be affected in El Cubulero,
Alianza, Valle. Due to high waves onshore, 120 families were affected in the coastal town of
Marcovia, Choluteca; at least one home was destroyed. Heavy rainfall left communities isolated, and 50 people were sheltered in
El Paraíso due to severe floods. Extreme flooding covering much of Isla Mujeres occurred. Cancún and
Cozumel saw very rough surf, breaking the seawall in Cozumel and increasing beach erosion in Cancún. Flights at
Cozumel International Airport were delayed while
Cancún International Airport saw nearly 100 cancellations or delays. The companies most affected by Helene were
Viva Aerobus,
Volaris, and
Aeromexico. Trees fell and roofs were damaged across the Yucatán Peninsula. but no fatalities were reported.
Caribbean Cayman Islands Over of rain fell onto the Cayman Islands. Heavy rainfall and large waves began affecting the Cayman Islands on September 24. Roads in
George Town were flooded as rainfall produced by the storm caused 14 power outages, affecting 118 customers across Grand Cayman. After Helene had passed, Grand Cayman was impacted by waves on September 26.
Cuba In Cuba, heavy rainfall occurred, with peak accumulations of recorded in Presa Herradura and in
Palacios. Elsewhere,
Punta del Este and
Isla de la Juventud received , Paso Real de San Diego received ,
Pinar del Río received , and Isabel Rubio received . In
Pinar del Río Province, 17 of the province's 24 reservoirs overflowed. Elsewhere, in El Palenque, road access was cut off due to flooding caused by Helene. Gale-force winds were recorded in the provinces of Isla de la Juventud and Pinar del Río. In total, around 70,000 customers experienced power outages in Pinar del Rio, with another 160,000 residents affected in
Artemisa. In
Havana, one person was injured after an uninhabited building collapsed due to heavy rains, and two landslides occurred. Intense rainfall caused the
Cuyaguateje River to rise rapidly, causing flooding in parts of Pinar del Río on September 26. Flooding also occurred in
Mayabeque Province, primarily in the municipalities of
Batabanó,
Melena del Sur, and
San Nicolás de Bari.
United States Initial estimates suggested that insured losses could reach US$3–6 billion, according to reinsurance broker Gallagher Re;
AM Best estimated losses in excess of US$5 billion. Later estimates by
Moody's Analytics estimated that the damage could reach US$20–34 billion.
AccuWeather estimated that the total damage and economic loss could cost anywhere from US$225–250 billion. At least four million people have lost power, according to the Omaha Public Power District. Agricultural damage is estimated at US$7 billion. Insured losses are expected to be lower than initially estimated due to standard
home insurance policies not including
flood insurance coverage, increased coverage restrictions by insurers, and hurricane
deductibles. Helene caused 65 wind-related fatalities across the
Southeastern United States, the most wind-related fatalities caused by a tropical cyclone in the
Contiguous United States since at least 1963. A
Baxter International manufacturing site in
Marion, North Carolina, which produced 60% of the nation's sterile
intravenous and
kidney dialysis fluids for health facilities, was temporarily closed due to flood damage. The closure of the manufacturing site led to a shortage and rationing of IV fluids across hospitals across the country. The shutdown resulted in shortages of parenteral IV fluids through the end of 2024. Across six affected states, a total of 250 fatalities were recorded. North Carolina reported the highest amount, with 107 deaths recorded across the state.
Buncombe County alone accounted for 43 of the total deaths in the state. Florida would report 34 fatalities, Georgia would report 37, and South Carolina would report 50. Wind gusts reached in
Fort Lauderdale and in
Naples. Storm surge reached in
Tampa. Areas of the Big Bend experienced inundation of more than 16 feet. two in Tampa involving a car accident where a sign fell on a car on
I-4, along with an elderly woman who drowned inside her house; and one in
Dixie County involving a tree falling on a home. Of the deaths in Pinellas, ten have been drownings and one was caused by an electrical fire that started after water rushed into a home. In
Citrus County, over 100 people and 50 pets were rescued after ten feet of storm surge hit the area. In total, over 1,000 people had to be rescued in the Tampa Bay area. As a result of the storm, around 1.69 million customers in Florida lost power. Rainfall in the state peaked at in Liberty county.
Georgia Though the storm weakened substantially crossing over Florida, Helene still entered Georgia as a strong category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds estimated at . The high winds caused at least $5.5 billion in losses to the timber and agricultural industries. Rainfall totals over 48 hours in the city reached , the most the city has seen in 48 hours since record keeping began in 1878. About 25 people had to be rescued from floods in Atlanta. Localized urban flooding was also reported on multiple interstates like
I-285,
I-85,
I-75 and many other interstate systems encompassing Atlanta. More significant flooding occurred in
Buckhead due to overflowing of the
Peachtree Creek, which flooded multiple surrounding apartment complexes. Other flooding occurred in areas around
Metro Atlanta. The
Chattahoochee River overflowed its banks in multiple areas around
Fulton County, Georgia and in downstream counties which prompted a water rescue in
Coweta County. Three tornadoes were spawned by Helene in the state, including one that killed two people in
Wheeler County when it overturned their mobile home. The Wheeler County tornado was rated an EF1, while the other two were rated EF0. Rabun County's emergency management department said many roads were left "impassable" by the storm and that most residents were without power into September 27, urging them to stay home to allow rescue and cleanup personnel to work uninterrupted. Helene caused significant damage to Georgia's poultry farms, causing damage or total destruction to 107 facilities. Georgia and surrounding regions produce almost half of the 9 billion chickens consumed annually across the United States, and manure runoff from the damaged facilities raised alarms about the quality of streams and groundwater. including six in
Spartanburg County and
Greenville County, four in
Aiken County, and
Anderson County, three in
Laurens County, two in
Newberry County, one in
Chesterfield County, three in
Saluda County, and one in
Greenwood County. Over 1.3 million customers were without power in South Carolina, the most of any state impacted by Helene, with several counties experiencing a near-complete loss of power. and in
Beaufort. Rainfall totals in the state peaked at at Sunfish Mountain. Helene spawned 21 weak tornadoes in the state; five of them were rated EF1, another was rated EFU, and the remaining 15 were rated EF0. after deciding to host its September 28 homecoming football game against
Stanford, bringing 80,295 fans to campus, most of whom were non-locals, at a time when the surrounding upstate, including the nearby city of
Clemson and town of
Central, were facing widespread power outages and gas shortages. Tailgaters put a heavy strain on already scarce supplies such as gas, hot food from the few local restaurants that remained open, and ice that residents needed to prevent their food from spoiling in the absence of power. Later, on September 28, Clemson University announced that it would be opening some of its powered facilities and offering free food, drinks, ice, charging stations, and showers to the community for members in need of respite following the storm. However, many criticized the university for not doing so sooner. Criticism continued when Clemson University announced that classes would be canceled on Monday, September 30, seemingly contradicting the earlier assertion that the area was recovered well enough to host a game. An electrical power outage led to one South Carolina factory farm losing 45,000 chickens. Millions more likely died due to Helene's effects across the Southeast, where almost half of the chicken farmed for meat in the United States is produced. However, the flooding by Helene rivals these storms and then some. Provisional data shows that the
French Broad River reached a high crest point of , compared to the previous record of set
in 1916. that number was later revised down to 103 as it emerged that significant double-counting and mis-allocation had occurred in Buncombe County. Two people, a four-year-old girl in
Claremont and a 58-year-old man in
Gastonia, were killed in traffic collisions during rains caused by Helene. At least 879,000 customers in the state lost power. In
Charlotte, high winds from Helene caused a tree to fall onto a residence, killing one person and seriously injuring another. In
Winston-Salem, heavy rains and high winds caused a large tree to fall on a gas station, damaging two vehicles. Residents living downstream of
Lake Lure were ordered to evacuate as its dam was overtopped by water and imminent failure was expected. Lake Lure Dam was later evaluated, and no imminent failure was expected, although erosion on both sides of the dam and compromise of the structural supports were reported. One woman in the town of
Lake Lure was rescued with her dog after being stranded inside a collapsed house along a riverbank. Eight tornadoes were spawned by Helene in the state. This included a brief but intense low-end EF3 tornado that impacted the north side of
Rocky Mount, damaging 14 buildings and injuring 15 people, including four critically. Five of the other tornadoes were rated EF1, while the remaining two were rated EF0. Data from the National Weather Service indicated that over of rain fell in areas upstream of
Chimney Rock, leading to devastating floodwaters that destroyed half of the village, including half of the businesses on the southern side of the village near the
Broad River. The downtown of
Elkin was heavily damaged by floodwaters from the
Yadkin River. The
Catawba River flooded
Morganton and left thousands of residents without power. The Oxford Dam, at Lake Hickory on the Catawba River, spilled over. More than 400 roads were closed in the western part of the state, and over 200 people had to be rescued from floods. – at the intersection of
Swannanoa River Road (NC-81) and Azalea Road – caused by Hurricane Helene A curfew was issued for
Asheville due to damage which occurred inside the city. The city broke their record for two-day rainfall, recording of rain. The
Asheville Police Department reported that they had made arrests due to looting. The
French Broad River crested at , and the Swannanoa River reached , both higher than the all-time records set by the
Flood of 1916. Almost the entirety of
Biltmore Village and the
River Arts District were flooded, and the city was largely isolated due to loss of power and cell service. Landslides around Asheville caused sections of
I-26 and
I-40 to collapse or wash away, forcing closures of affected routes. Access to Asheville was cut off from September 27–28 via I-26 to South Carolina. A curfew was also issued for
Boone after high winds and torrential rain caused flooding, sink holes, and power outages throughout
Watauga County.
Appalachian State's football game against
Liberty was canceled due to flooding and was not rescheduled. A mudslide and floodwaters from the
Pigeon River washed out a section of
I-40 at the North Carolina–Tennessee border, forcing another closure. The Pigeon River rose to more than in
Canton, In
Busick, rainfall totals reached . The
University of North Carolina at Asheville canceled all classes through October 9 (later extended through October 28), along with Appalachian State campuses of Boone and
Hickory through October 15, and
Western Carolina University through October 4.
Warren Wilson College and
Blue Ridge Community College announced they would remain closed for at least a week. The
Asheville School, a boarding school in Asheville, evacuated its students and announced the campus would remain closed until October 14.
Christ School, an all-boys Episcopal boarding school in
Arden, was not evacuated and the campus was left without power until October 9. Classes would resume six days later. The
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) issued a statement on their website that all roads in western North Carolina should be considered closed.
Lees–McRae College in
Banner Elk evacuated their campus and by September 29, all students were successfully evacuated with the assistance of the
North Carolina National Guard. In one instance, federal aid workers briefly paused or relocated their work in
Rutherford County, North Carolina, as a result. A 44-year-old North Carolina man was later arrested and charged in the Rutherford County incident after he was found with a handgun and a rifle at a supermarket serving as a storm relief site. Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that climate change increased rainfall from the storm by more than 50% in some parts of Georgia and North Carolina. The catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina likely caused at least a record US$59.6 billion in damages and recovery needs. The storm and its aftermath caused 1,400 landslides and damaged over 160 water and sewer systems, at least of roads, more than 1,000 bridges and culverts and an estimated 126,000 homes, the budget office said. Some 220,000 households are expected to apply for federal assistance.
Tennessee Helicopter crews rescued 58 people, with units from the
Virginia State Police assisting, from
Unicoi County Hospital in
Erwin after the hospital was almost entirely submerged. Part of a set of bridges on
I-26/
US 23/
US 19W spanning the
Nolichucky River in Erwin were completely washed away. The
Nashville Predators postponed a preseason game against the
Tampa Bay Lightning to October 7 due to severe weather in the area.
Nashville broke a daily rainfall record on September 27. In
Morristown, several trees fell, causing power lines to be snapped throughout the city. Wind gusts in
Sparta reached . In
Newport, the
Pigeon River rose to over three times the flood stage and set a new record at , flooding portions of the town and nearby
I-40. In
Johnson County, numerous residents were without power, telephone, and could not leave their residences for several days. Many homes and buildings were washed away during the flooding, notably, Antioch Baptist Church in the
Trade community. As of October 1, 2024, across northeastern Tennessee, 85 people were still missing. Early on September 28, the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) utility company issued a Condition Red alert for the
Nolichucky Dam, saying that a failure of the dam was imminent, and local authorities issued an evacuation order. However, it was reported by late morning the same day that water levels along the Nolichucky River were lowering. The TVA was investigating the dam to figure out the next steps. northeast of the Nolichucky Dam, the Kinser Bridge, which is a part of
SR 107, usually above the Nolichucky River, collapsed after floodwaters overran the bridge. A total of five state-maintained bridges were destroyed. A
K-9 for the Erwin Police Department named Scotty was found dead on September 28 after going missing during flooding in the
Bumpus Cove community. Six employees who were trapped by flood waters at the Impact Plastics plant in Erwin were among the missing and dead, with one worker who survived and family members of the deceased saying workers were not told that they could leave until after flood waters had covered the road to the plant and it lost power. Impact Plastics released a statement expressing sympathy for the workers' deaths and said that employees had not been threatened with termination for leaving the plant. The incident was investigated by the
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which cleared the company of any criminal wrongdoing. After the storm, four state parks fully closed, with
Panther Creek State Park experiencing trail closures and
Seven Islands State Birding Park having both trail and boat ramp closures. Hurricane Helene caused a total agricultural and forestry loss of $1.351 billion. Another person was killed in
Tazewell County when a falling tree struck them as they were cleaning debris. Rainfall reached in the
Grayson Highlands, while
Galax saw around of rain over a 72-hour period. In the
New River Valley, high waters from Helene were seen as far north as
Radford University.
Damascus saw flooding of . surveying damage in
Damascus after the storm Over 70 water rescue operations occurred in the state, with the
Virginia National Guard rappelling from helicopters and pulling people from cars. In
Albemarle County, one road was washed out. Elsewhere,
SR 670 in
Madison County and
SR 637 in
Greene County suffered heavy damage.
Claytor Lake would suffer heavy pollution, with officials noting that their teams had found propane tanks and floating cars behind the dam. In the city of
Radford, the
New River crested at , only being surpassed by a crest on August 14, 1940, due to the remnants of the
1940 South Carolina hurricane. An EF1 tornado caused minor damage in
Bedford County, while an EF2 tornado in
Pittsylvania County injured one person, damaged 30 structures, and destroyed a mobile home. Another EF1 tornado blew down trees near
Keeling as well. After the storm, nine state parks and four preserves closed due to damage from Helene. In addition, numerous trails were closed in
Shenandoah National Park. The entire
Blue Ridge Parkway was closed as well. However, much of the Virginia segment of the highway reopened on October 11.
Elsewhere LaRue County, Kentucky, experienced up to of rain. A daily rainfall record was broken in
Lexington. Wind gusts in
Morgan County exceeded . Across Kentucky, nearly 220,000 customers lost power. In
Jessamine County, the steeple of Edgewood Baptist Church in
Nicholasville, Kentucky was blown off. In Lexington alone, over 110,000 customers had power outages. In West Virginia, there was heavy rainfall. High water ran in
Bluefield, and trees blocked multiple roadways. Elsewhere in the state, fallen trees were across parts of
Fayette County. In
Mercer County, more than 20,000 customers lost power due to Helene. The
Denver Broncos, who were practicing at the Greenbrier Resort due to having two consecutive east coast road games, were forced to hold one of their practices in the indoor tennis courts due to the heavy rainfall. Helene's rains have been primarily beneficial, alleviating drought conditions which were in the state since August 2024. In
Huntington, a wind gust of was recorded; which was the second highest wind gust ever recorded at that station. In Illinois, Helene's remnants produced heavy rains and high winds, causing several thousand outages. The waves on
Lake Michigan were as high as . Portions of
Southern Illinois exceeded of rain from the storm, which caused water levels on the
Ohio River to jump by following the storm. However, the rainfall in this region was largely beneficial due to drought conditions from a lack of rain earlier in the month. About 100,000 power outages occurred in
Indiana, and winds gusted up to . Rainfall in the state peaked at in
Mt. Vernon, with of rain in
Downtown Indianapolis; heavier rainfall totals occurred in the southern parts of the state. One person was killed due to a fallen tree near
Griffin. An estimated 1,000 households sustained damage in
Scioto County due to unexpected heavy rainfall, with of rain falling within the span of a few hours. Four hundred damage reports have been filed as of September 30, 2024. In the city of
Cincinnati, rainfall totals reached . Wind gusts in the state reached . In the state of
Alabama, over 3,000 customers lost power. Isolated regions in
Geneva County and
Houston County experienced of rain. However, a last-second shift to the east lessened impacts throughout the state. In the
Northeast, particularly in
New York and
New Jersey, light moisture from the northeastern quadrants of Helene's remnants associated with a cold front would precipitate over the
tri-state area. Rainfall was overall light with breezy conditions across the region. The peak amount of precipitation was at
Wall Township, New Jersey; over 200 locations statewide recorded at least of rain. Helene's impacts across the region would be the last measured precipitation in that region until November in a historic dry-spell, that would eventually lead to extreme drought conditions in portions of New Jersey. Following the storm, a record long rainless streak was established in
Philadelphia. == Aftermath ==