BY: ISABELA RANGEL / STAFF WRITER
In late September 2024, the southeastern U.S. region hunkered down as Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida. Coming down as a Category 4, Helene reached 140 mph winds and brought flooding to various areas. The storm, surging through the Gulf Coast, caused catastrophic damage throughout Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and into the Carolinas.
Spreading out to over 350 miles in diameter, its destructive rains and roaring winds extended the damage to beyond regions lining the Gulf Coast. In making landfall, the storm caused surges ranging from 7-15 feet, flooding mainly the Tampa Bay area, along the west coast of Florida. Winds of up to 30 mph carried the storm across the state, maintaining Helene’s strength for up to several hours after making landfall. It crossed state lines, powering through Georgia and leaving entire counties without electricity and shelter.
Among the worst-hit areas was Tampa Bay, with the eye of the hurricane taking out entire neighborhoods and flooding houses, sometimes up to the second story. Florida Power and Light (FPL) continues to work around the clock to restore working electricity to those areas affected by the storm.
Georgia and certain parts of Tennessee continue to deal with flooding, as it’s slowed the rescue and restoration process by weeks. Once smooth roads are now impassable due to a combination of debris and flooding.
In moving away from the coast, the storm doused inland areas with record-breaking amounts of rain. Atlanta faced its heaviest rains recorded in history with a staggering 11 inches in 48 hours. North and South Carolina were wiped of electricity and are still recovering from the amount of damage done to its landscape and infrastructure.
Certain areas of Tennessee saw powerful flooding that ruined neighborhoods and hospitals, calling for emergency evacuations in those areas. Meanwhile, Carolinas were stuck without power, with several dams in North Carolina threatening to collapse due to overflowing.
As of early October, hundreds of rescue workers continue to work in the southeast to restore power, help residents rebuild, and clear damage and debris. Many evacuated citizens still reside in emergency shelters, their houses completely wiped away by the storm.
Hurricane Helene’s recovery efforts are estimated to cost over $25 billion, making it one of the most expensive post-storm recoveries in history. In addition to this, many residents still have upcoming Hurricane Milton to face, another storm expected to make landfall in Florida during the first week of October.
In being faced with such a catastrophic storm, many experts hope to use this as a wake-up call for the effects of climate change on natural disasters. This ever-looming threat heightens the strength of storms like these, adding more aggressive rain patterns and damaging wind speeds. Hurricanes are notoriously fueled by the warming waters, making storms faster, stronger, and more likely to develop in the first place.
With the Southeast U.S. still reeling from this tragedy, Helene serves as a reminder of the rapidly growing consequences of climate change and global warming. As affected residents and rescuers continue to address the aftermath, they can all agree on one thing: While Hurricane Helene was a brutal storm, it is matched by the unrelenting resilience of those coming together to help heal their fallen communities.