Helene drowns southeastern United States

(The Center Square) – At least 26 people across four states have died as a result of the storm formerly known as Hurricane Helene that has produced widespread flooding and tornadoes.

Some of the worst flooding was in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia. The Lake Lure Dam in North Carolina, famous as a scene from the 1987 hit movie Dirty Dancing, was in danger of failing Friday afternoon.

Eleven people in Georgia and seven in Florida died. One of the Georgia deaths was a first responder, according to Gov. Brian Kemp.

Four people, including two firefighters, were killed in South Carolina, but there could be more, Gov. Henry McMaster said at a news conference Friday afternoon. At least two people were killed in North Carolina and the death toll there is expected to rise, Gov. Roy Cooper said.

Parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are under a tornado watch until 6 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Fifty-four people were stranded at Unicoi County Hospital in northern Tennessee after flood waters blocked the roads, Ballard Health said in a Facebook post.

“The hospital has been engulfed by extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water,” the company said. “The situation at the hospital is very dangerous and TEMA and National Guard resources are engaged in what can only be described as a dangerous rescue operation.”

TEMA is an acronym for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

The winds prevented helicopters from landing on the roof, Ballard Health said.

Two eastbound lanes of Interstate 40, which runs from Wilmington at the Atlantic Ocean to Barstow, Calif., at the Pacific Ocean, washed out into the Pigeon River near the Tennessee-North Carolina border.

Cooper, North Carolina’s governor, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation said Friday afternoon that all western North Carolina roads should be considered closed. More than 359 roads were closed in western North Carolina, Cooper said.

Appalachian State, in Boone, N.C., canceled its Saturday football game with Liberty.

Atlanta had downed trees and flooding that closed roads. The Sandy Springs area received more than 17 inches of rain over two days, according to the Fulton County Emergency Management Agency.

Helene entered Florida as a Category 4 hurricane but died down to a tropical storm over Georgia. It produced flooding, gusty winds and some tornadoes miles from where it first made landfall.

The National Weather Service Prediction Center said Friday the storm will continue to move northwest, producing heavy rain.