As Hurricane Helene brought floodwaters to a small Tennessee hospital near the riverbank, workers first attempted to evacuate patients via ambulance; however, when the road washed out, they were forced to change tactics. Next, they tried moving people to the center of the low-slung building but found it flooded as well. When rescue boats finally arrived, the water was so dangerous that they couldn’t leave the area. Ultimately, dozens of staff and patients had to go up onto the roof to wait for rescue; a few others were able to stay in rescue boats as winds whipped around them and brown waters with debris beneath gushed nearby.
Within just a few hours, all those on the roof and in boats were rescued safely. The dramatic scene at Unicoi County Hospital, located in Erwin, Tennessee near the North Carolina border, was one of several that unfolded across the southern United States in Helene’s wake. Flooding caused by its storm surge and rain sent thousands of police officers, firefighters, lifeguards, and other emergency personnel scrambling to rescue stranded residents from their homes or cars caught in rapidly rising waters.
In neighboring Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, the sheriff’s office rescued more than 300 people overnight from storm surge. In South Pasadena, a city within the Tampa Bay area, rescue video shows a house burning early Friday amid flooded streets. Other counties along the Gulf reported over 100 rescues.
In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp said crews are working to rescue people trapped in more than 115 homes. In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper stated that flash floods were threatening lives and causing numerous landslides across the state’s western section. Helene’s rains flooded homes in Hanover West, a neighborhood in north Atlanta. Emergency personnel rescued several people from their homes, according to Richard Simms, a resident of a nearby neighborhood.
At sea, the Coast Guard reported rescuing three boaters and their pets from storm-related incidents. In one case captured on video, a man and his Irish setter were stranded 25 miles offshore in the Gulf on their 36-foot sailboat during heavy seas. The footage shows the man placing his dog into a yellow rescue vest and pushing it into the turbulent sea before jumping in himself. A Coast Guard swimmer helped them into a rescue basket, which hoisted them into a helicopter above.
As emergency crews continue their efforts to save lives and help those affected by Hurricane Helene’s flooding, residents of the impacted areas are left to pick up the pieces and rebuild what was lost.
