A report published this week by the National Hurricane Center revealed the brutal impact of Hurricane Helene, which hit the American Southeast in late September 2024. The center reports that Hurricane Helene was the deadliest storm since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The report found that Helene “is responsible for at least 249 fatalities in the United States (including at least 175 direct deaths),” making it the deadliest storm in 20 years. You can read the NHC’s comprehensive report here.
Hurricane preparedness is critical in minimizing loss of property and life. Whether it’s boarding up windows, sandbagging homes, or simply up and leaving, getting early warnings of extreme weather is critical to mitigating damage from those storms.
In Helene’s case, flash flooding (as the name suggests) happened quite suddenly, and far inland, catching many by surprise. Direct fatalities occur due to a storm’s immediate impacts—whether it be flooding, rip currents, landslides, or falling trees. Ninety-four people died from Helene’s flooding and the resulting landslides, according to the report, with the second deadliest culprit being wind, which caused 65 direct deaths.
Currently, about 10% of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staff are either laid off or not allowed to work due to Trump administration-driven cuts whose legality is now being determined by the courts; last week, Gizmodo spoke with a meteorologist and hurricane hunter who flew through several storms, including Helene, about the situation.
When Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm, it knocked out power for millions of people across the American southeast and caused flooding as far inland as Tennessee and western North Carolina. The storm plunged swathes of Georgia and the Carolinas into darkness, captured in eerie satellite images.
Helene’s impacts weren’t just felt on the ground. The International Space Station’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) captured images of gravity waves in Earth’s atmosphere, churned up by the intense storm.
2024’s hurricanes were strong and unpredictable across the board; consider Hurricane Milton, which swelled from a Category 1 storm to a Category 5 event in just seven hours. The Atlantic hurricanes last season took advantage of especially moist conditions—breeding ground for intense storms.
Helene’s death toll is dwarfed by that of Hurricane Katrina, which reportedly caused nearly 1,400 deaths, including 520 direct deaths. Many of the 565 indirect fatalities (318) were cardiovascular in nature, and 307 additional fatalities could not be definitively labeled as either directly or indirectly caused by Katrina.
Hurricane season doesn’t start back up until June 30, and will run through November 30. Here’s hoping that NOAA can sort out its staffing issues before the worst comes to pass.
