As it continues to cause flooding and mudslides that endanger the lives of thousands in Florida, the effects of Hurricane Helene are spreading to several states with intense winds and rain.
Rain in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee will continue, causing record flooding in forested and urban areas.
Numerous major landslides are expected in steep terrain in the southern Appalachians, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In North Carolina and Georgia the effects have already been devastating and are expected to continue, after Helene hit Florida in category 4 with sustained winds of 225 km/h, causing flooding and power outages.
Helene is a Category 1 and is moving toward Atlanta with sustained winds of 60 mph, but hurricane-force wind gusts may still occur, the National Hurricane Center says.
Tornadoes are also possible in parts of eastern Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia.
From Florida to Georgia, countless emergency crews are responding to reports of people trapped in their homes and vehicles due to rising rivers and flooding.
Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida emergency crews have so far responded to more than 100 water rescue calls and have saved at least 65 people.
There are several people dead
At least five people have died due to events related to the hurricane, one person died in Florida and two in Georgia, the governments report.
In North Carolina, a 4-year-old boy died in Catawba County in a head-on crash on rain-slick roads.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, one person died in their home after the storm’s strong winds caused a tree to fall.
“The minor children in the home were not physically harmed,” the Charlotte Fire Department said on Facebook.
