Death Toll Increases To At Least 44 Amid Devastating Flooding, Water Rescues In Wake Of Helene

Helene carved a path of destruction throughout the southeastern United States after making landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 44 people, knocking millions out of power, and causing billions in damages amid widespread flooding, according to multiple reports.

Officials carried out hundreds of water rescues as rivers, swollen by heavy rains, poured over their banks, forcing roads to close and stranding cars along roadways.

In Tennessee, about 50 patients and staff at a rural hospital in Unicoi County were rescued from the roof by helicopter after floodwaters inundated the community, the Associated Press reported.

Helene slammed into the Big Bend region of Florida Thursday evening with 140 mph winds, swamping roads, felling trees and causing extensive flooding, before moving into Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

"I would just describe it, having spent the last few hours out there, as a war zone," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said of the damage near Tampa, Reuters reported.

The storm is expected to linger over the Ohio and Tennessee valleys Saturday and Sunday, bringing "heavy to moderate rain" that will create flash floods before dissipating by Monday, the National Weather Service said.

Among the at least 44 people killed in Helene were three firefighters, a woman and her month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman whose house was hit by a tree, according to a tally by the Associated Press.

The deaths occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, AP reported.

About 3.5 million people remained in the dark across several southern states, with officials warning that it could take days before power would be restored.

Moody's Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage, the AP reported.