Helene tracker: Hurricane kills 64 people as millions left without power after catastrophic storm

The threat of a potential dam collapse in Tennesse has eased, officials said on Saturday, following an emergency inspection.

Around midnight the Tennessee Valley Authority had issued an emergency warning that the Nolichucky Dam could breach at any time. An update later on Saturday said the Nolichucky River had crested at 8 feet (2.4 meters) over previous record elevations and was receding at about 1 foot (0.3 meters) per hour.

“Our Dam Safety teams are in the process of assessing the condition of the dam to determine next steps,” TVA posted on X.

Joe Biden has officially declared that an emergency exists in the state of Tennessee and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Helene, the White House said on Saturday.

The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population

It also authorizes appropriate assistance for required emergency measures to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.

A Fox meteorologist leaped into action during a live broadcast early Friday morning to rescue a woman trapped in her car amid the deadly Category 4 Hurricane Helene.

Additional rainfall is expected this weekend across portions of the southern Appalachian region, according to the National Weather Service.

Additional totals of up to one inch of rain are expected for areas of western North Carolina, including Asheville – which has seen severe destruction and flooding.

Eastern Tennessee, including Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg will see similar levels and up to two inches is possible for portions of Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania through Monday.

“Although rainfall amounts will be light, areas that received excessive rainfall from Helene may see isolated aggression of excessive runoff,” the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg said on Saturday morning.

The death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached at least 52, according to an Associated Press tally.

Among the people killed in the storm were three firefighters, a woman and her 1-month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman whose house was struck by a falling tree.

According to the AP, the deaths occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The village of Asheville, North Carolina, was hit with extensive flooding in the aftermath of Helene.

Footage shared online showed buildings fully submerged in water, with residents forced onto their roofs. Multiple casualties have been reported locally.

Despite Helene easing off on Saturday, some 3.1 million customers were left without power across the southeast on Saturday.

Customers were left in the dark in areas like South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.