Updated Oct 4, 2024 - Energy & Climate

Hurricane Helene now one of the deadliest storms to hit the U.S. this century

Rebecca Falconer

Search and rescue teams hike along the Broad River where North Carolina Route 9 used to be, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on October 2, 2024 near Chimney Rock, North Carolina. — Search and rescue teams hike along the Broad River where North Carolina Route 9 used to be, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene near Chimney Rock, North Carolina, on Wednesday. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Hurricane Helene's death toll surpassed 200 on Thursday as rescue crews searched for survivors, one week after the major storm made landfall in Florida and brought flooding rains across the U.S. Southeast.

The big picture: The at least 215 deaths confirmed so far make the storm the third-deadliest of the 21st century, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (1,392 deaths) and Hurricane Maria in 2017 (at least 2,975 deaths).

State of play: The "only other hurricane deadlier than Helene over the past 60 years was Camille," per Yale Climate Connections.

The 1969 storm shared similarities with Hurricane Helene "in that the majority of Camille's 259 U.S. deaths came from flash flooding across the Appalachians (in Virginia), following a Category 5 landfall that was itself catastrophic," the climate news service noted.
"These numbers include both direct and indirect deaths."
A study out this week found hurricanes were linked to thousands of deaths over the 15 years following the event.

Threat level: Hurricane Helene brought death and destruction to six Southeastern states, after making landfall late on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm after rapidly intensifying, bringing unprecedented storm surge flooding in Tampa.

NASA's Earth Observatory noted in an online post that a "predecessor rain event and then the main storm system brought heavy precipitation to southern Appalachia," starting on Sept. 25.
"Deadly and destructive flooding occurred as a result in eastern Tennessee, western Virginia, and North Carolina, among other areas," per the post.

Zoom in: In Asheville, North Carolina, which saw historic water level rises, National Weather Service data shows a total of 13.98 inches of rain fell from Sept. 25-27.

The storm swamped neighborhoods, damaged roads, caused landslides, knocked out electricity and cell service and forced many residents to evacuate to temporary shelters.

Record flood crests were observed on multiple rivers across N.C.
"Flooding was widespread across the southern Appalachians; preliminary rainfall totals neared or exceeded 10 inches" in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia," the Earth Observatory noted.

Between the lines: Climate change is causing hurricanes to produce more rainfall than they did a few decades ago, studies show.

There's been a documented trend toward more storms that rapidly intensify and an amplification of the intensification rates in the Atlantic, per Axios' senior climate reporter Andrew Freedman.
And climate change has been boosting global ocean temperatures, which were at record-high levels for 15 consecutive months.

Go deeper: Thousands without water, 1 week on from hurricane hitting Florida

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Add Axios on Google

Hurricane Helene now one of the deadliest storms to hit the U.S. this century

What to read next