What Hurricane Helene’s 500-mile path of destruction looks like

By Rachel Ramirez, Sharif Paget, Aaron Fisher and Curt Merrill, CNN

(CNN) — Hurricane Helene laid waste to the southeastern United States. Its sheer wind force and deadly floods left behind a path of destruction stretching over 500 miles from Florida to the Southern Appalachians.

In just 48 hours, vast swaths of the region became unrecognizable. The storm has caused at least 130 deaths, and officials fear the toll could rise as many people remain unaccounted for.

Communities were cut off and stranded as floodwaters washed away hundreds of roads, buildings, homes and vehicles. Communication infrastructure is in shreds. Millions of people have also lost power and access to water across at least six states.

Helene’s path of devastation started on Florida’s Gulf Coast, as it traveled to the Big Bend. At 11:10 p.m. on September 26, it made landfall near the city of Perry as a powerful Category 4 hurricane and brought record-breaking storm surge late into the night.

The region saw up to 15 feet of surge, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service.

In Tampa Bay, waters rose to at least 6 feet, submerging many vehicles and residences.

In Pinellas County, Florida, just west of Tampa, rescuers from the South Pasadena Fire Department and the county sheriff’s office waded through the rising waters by boat, searching for trapped residents. In one video, rescuers can be seen floating by a flooded, burning house.

Further north in Cedar Key, the storm’s devastation was so widespread, city officials warned residents and volunteers on Friday against returning to the small coastal community. Many historic buildings and new homes have been severely damaged from hurricane-force winds and flooding, while roads were blocked by downed wires and dangerous debris.

Flooding in Big Bend’s Steinhatchee community is not uncommon, but as Helene made landfall, locals say it spawned the worst flooding they’ve ever seen. One resident, Jules Carl, told CNN’s John Berman Friday morning she’s never had to worry too much about flooding in her home, but Helene came uncomfortably close.

“I’ve got a boat sitting in the road in front of me right now and fish in our yard,” she said. “(The water) was coming up our patio steps. It got very, very close to coming in.”

Some homes in Steinhatchee even floated away with the storm surge. Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby, who was riding out the hurricane in a house nearby, told CNN some homes “crashed into each other” as they were swept away.

The storm quickly churned its way inland. Daylight unveiled the full scale of destruction: homes flattened; roads inundated; cars flipped; trees toppled; and power lines felled.

Helene moved into Georgia as a Category 2 hurricane early Friday morning, after two days of heavy rain – not directly related to Helene – drenched large parts of the state. This made the ground unable to absorb additional moisture, leaving it more susceptible to Helene’s flooding.

Atlanta saw the highest 48-hour rainfall totals on record, which quickly triggered life-threatening flooding. As Helene lingered in the region, Augusta saw some of the heaviest rainfall in the state, totaling 12 to 15 inches — about four months’ worth of rain in just two days. Extremely strong winds from the massive storm also lashed much of the state.

Rescue crews saved a woman on top of a half-sunken car in the city of Mableton, northwest of Atlanta, just after sunrise on Friday. In Atlanta, authorities also rescued a family, including a woman carrying her baby, taking refuge on top of their car from the fast-flowing floodwaters; one of multiple such rescue missions across the region.

Hundreds of roads remain closed and inaccessible from fallen trees and scattered debris from torn buildings.

The storm pushed its way across the Blue Ridge Mountains, continuing to ravage everything in its path.

Helene weakened into a tropical storm as it moved toward the Carolinas, but its wrath didn’t lessen. It heaped heavy rain onto mountain communities. Hundreds of road closures hampered efforts to rescue residents and prevented the delivery of urgently needed supplies.

In South Carolina, Helene brought vicious winds and dumped “staggering” amounts of rain: up to 12 to 14 inches. Two firefighters died Friday night in Saluda County, about 43 miles west of Columbia, after a tree fell on their firetruck. Days later, the death toll rose to dozens, largely from fallen trees and power lines.

The western North Carolina city of Asheville was especially hard-hit. Many residents took refuge on roofs, though some collapsed into the floodwaters. Houses floated away, while roads and bridges crumbled.

Helene turned the beloved city into a mess of sludge, floating debris and toppled vehicles. Officials described it as “biblical devastation.”

Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder summed up the situation at a news conference Monday morning: “Don’t come.”

“We know you want to help, but please do not come here,” she said. “We do not have water, and we do not have power across the county, most of the county. The roads are still incredibly dangerous, and we simply cannot accommodate people.”

Floods from Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the western North Carolina village of Chimney Rock and the region surrounding Lake Lure. Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari, who filmed the destruction, likened the storm to a “blender that was just taking out anything in its path.” He noted it will take years to rebuild the area.

Farther inland, Helene’s landscape-altering impacts reached Tennessee. Heavy rainfall washed away a part of Interstate 40, a major highway connecting North Carolina and Tennessee.

In the town of Afton, Tennessee, Helene washed out the Kinser Bridge on Highway 107, which is normally about 60 feet above the Nolichucky River. The bridge is also about 12 miles northeast of the Nolichucky Dam, which authorities warned on Saturday was also at risk of collapse.

In nearby Erwin, more than 50 patients and staffers at the Unicoi County Hospital didn’t have enough time to evacuate to safety. As floodwater rose, they scrambled to seek refuge on the roof, where fierce winds made rescue challenging. Fortunately, crews brought them all to safety by Friday afternoon.

Parts of Virginia also suffered Helene’s blow, leaving two dead from storm-related tree fall and building collapse, and hundreds of thousands without power.

Helene became a tropical depression midday Friday. By Saturday, the storm had dissolved into remnants. Yet the true scale of its devastation remains to be seen.

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CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed to this story.