Over the weekend, Hurricane Helene destroyed vital infrastructure throughout six states in the southeast. Roads are closed and bridges have collapsed in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia.
Florida
In Florida, cities such as Tampa and Clearwater saw the highest storm surges in decades, leading to flooding and road closures.
Inspectors were examining bridges and causeways along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Friday morning to get them open to traffic. Additionally, 2,000 miles of roadway across Florida have been cleared of debris.
Emergency responders had to bulldoze four to five feet of sand off roads to clear them, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday.
North Carolina
In North Carolina, flooding washed away homes and bridges. Authorities had to close 400 roads as they were deemed unsafe for travel. Parts of North Carolina saw 30 inches of rain, triggering flash floods and landslides.
The National Weather Service said it was concerned about additional landslides in parts of western North Carolina. Precipitation could produce more runoff that may result in unstable slopes across mountainous terrain.
Asheville was devastated by flooding, leaving power outages, dam and reservoir breaches and downed trees. People have been trapped in their homes due to impassible roads and parts of the city were underwater.
Parts of old U.S. Highway 70 are no longer there, according to Swannanoa Fire Chief Anthony Penland.
South Carolina
In South Carolina, the Myrtle Beach Fire Department cleared debris from the roadways in Greenville County on Sunday.
Police departments throughout the state are urging residents to stay off the roads.
Tennessee
In Tennessee, the Kisner Bridge over Nolichucky River collapsed. Five other bridges are “completely gone” and 14 state highways are impassible. Many local roads were washed out in the storm. Local officials are still sorting through the damage.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) inspected over 100 bridges in 36 hours, according to a social media post by TDOT. Officials still have hundreds more to check.
Georgia
In Georgia, officials asked residents to stay off the roads in Atlanta, August, Athens and other parts of the state.
Crews are working round the clock to clear debris from roadways and rescue stranded civilians.
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Source: ABC News, CNN, WXIN, Fox 5
