Hurricane Helene live: At least 25 dead as North Carolina town forced to evacuate with dam failure ‘imminent’

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Washington Bureau Chief

North Carolina forecasters urgently warned residents to evacuate to higher ground on Friday as the Rutherford County Lake Lure Dam began to fail amid impacts from Tropical Storm Helene.

“URGENT: FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR THE LAKE LURE DAM! DAM FAILURE IMMINENT! RESIDENTS BELOW THE DAM NEED TO EVACUATE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY!” the National Weather Service said.

At least 25 people have died after Helene crashed into Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, pounding the west coast with “unsurvivable” conditions.

Helene has since been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still packing “life-threatening” conditions as it plows across the county with a flash flood emergency issued for metro Atlanta and as far north as Kentucky’s Appalachia on high alert for heavy rains and landslides.

Hurricane-force wind gusts were still occurring Friday in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas and very heavy rainfall was ongoing for much of the US Southeast, causing historic and life-threatening flooding.

As the sun came up in Florida, the damage was widespread and catastrophic. Storm surge has left some homes underwater to the roofline, and boats were smashed together like bath toys in marinas. Downed trees, powerlines and other debris were making navigating roadways treacherous for emergency responders

Around 4 million people were without power from Florida up the east coast to Virgina.

The hurricane hit the state’s Big Bend region just after 11pm local time on Thursday with 140mph winds and 15ft storm surge.

Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed two fatalities in Florida. A driver was killed when a sign fell onto their car in Tampa. There were five other deaths reported by the Sheriff’s Office in Pinellas County.

A total of 11 people died in Georgia, including two in Wheeler County; they were killed after their trailer crashed on a highway. One person was an emergency responder.

Six deaths were reported in South Carolina. Two people in Anderson County died when tree fells on houses Friday morning. At least four others died overnight in Aiken County. In North Carolina, a person was also killed by a falling tree in Charlotte.