The death toll from Tropical Storm Helen has risen to 33 in Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, while more than 4 million households and businesses in these states have been left without power.
Police and firefighters made thousands of rescues in affected areas, including in Atlanta, where an apartment complex was evacuated due to flooding.
Helen, downgraded from a strong hurricane to a tropical storm, is now moving toward Tennessee and Kentucky, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. By midday, more than 50 people were trapped on the roof of a hospital in Tennessee’s Unicoi County, about 75 miles (120 km) northeast of Knoxville.
The waters have turned the rural community into a swamp and, with the Nolitsaki River overflowing, ambulances and other vehicles are unable to reach and evacuate patients.
Rescues continue with boats.
In western North Carolina, authorities in Rutherford County warned residents near the Lake Lure Dam to evacuate and seek shelter on higher ground as they feared the dam could collapse at any moment.
In neighboring Buncombe County, landslides closed Interstates 40 and 26.
In Florida, water washed away mobile homes in Steinhatchee and many roads in Tampa have become impassable due to floodwaters. In Pasco County, local police forces rescued 65 people overnight.
Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s disaster management services, urged residents in the affected areas to stay off the streets. “We have 1,500 rescuers in these areas. I’m begging you. don’t get in their way, so they can do their job,” he said.
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