This was what everyone feared would happen, as we waited for Category 4 Hurricane Helene to move onshore in Florida, and make its way north to Georgia, the Carolinas, and Appalachia this weekend. The storm has left a trail of death and destruction, with at least 44 people dead, and others critically injured, across four Southeastern U.S. states, and power outages as far afield as Indiana and Ohio being reported late Friday night into Saturday morning.
via the Associated Press:
Hurricane Helene left an enormous path of destruction across Florida and the entire southeastern U.S. on Friday, killing at least 44 people in four states, snapping trees like twigs, tearing apart homes and sending rescue crews on desperate missions to save people from floodwaters.
Among those killed were three firefighters, a woman and her 1-month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman whose house was struck by a falling tree. According to an Associated Press tally, the deaths occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
…
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph when it made landfall late Thursday in a sparsely populated region in Florida’s rural Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways where Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula meet.
Rescue and recovery teams are on the ground across the state in the wake of Helene. As we continue to respond to damage, please stay away from flooded areas, keep roadways clear, and remain alert for potential hazards. For the latest information visit https://t.co/dpLvWh6rRg
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) September 27, 2024
The report continued, sharing that Atlanta surpassed rainfall records that had stood since the 19th century, and reporting on the twisters in North Carolina that may raise the death toll of the hurricane:
Atlanta received a record 11.12 inches (28.24 centimeters) of rain in 48 hours, the most the city has seen in a two-day period since record keeping began in 1878, Georgia’s Office of the State Climatologist said on the social platform X. The previous mark of 9.59 inches (24.36 cm) was set in 1886. Some neighborhoods were so badly flooded that only car roofs could be seen poking above the water.
Tornadoes hit some areas, including one in Nash County, North Carolina, that critically injured four people.
This picture just sent to me from downtown Asheville, North Carolina. Multiple evacuation orders across Western North Carolina. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/LsfZFsdxgg
— Cody Alcorn (@CodyAlcorn) September 27, 2024
But the strange flip side of tragedies is that they open up opportunities for everyday heroes to emerge. One story like that from Hurricane Helene, about the Fox weatherman who saved an Atlanta woman’s life, comes to us courtesy of meteorologist Janice Dean (the Weather Machine) from Fox News:
Watch @BobVanDillen tell us how he helped save a women from a flooded car while reporting in Atlanta, Georgia for @foxweather! Hero!
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) September 27, 2024
Fox Weather reporter Bob Van Dillen told his colleagues back at the studio, about the screams of a woman he could not ignore during a live report in Atlanta, Georgia, he was doing with a videographer. He began by talking about how “swamped” emergency personnel and 9-1-1 dispatchers are, then mentioned the woman, as footage rolled of her submerged car:
“You could hear her screaming, right? You could hear it during my live shot, real loud. That’s the car, right there,” he said, then he added with a chuckle, “the windshield wipers are still on.” He said he “couldn’t let it go,” even though he was there to do his job.
“I dropped everything, and I took my wallet out of my pants…I went in there, waded in chest deep.” His commentary on the rescue is suddenly cut off by one of the anchors (it’s a woman’s voice, but she’s off-screen), who chides him for being too humble, saying that everyone who knows Van Dillen would say they aren’t surprised by his heroic actions.
But listen to his response. We need more people in our country who put others before themselves in situations like this. It’s truly inspiring to see humility–and a great man–in action. Please continue to pray for the people affected by Hurricane Helene, too.
