Helene's historic wrath: $214M in NC timber damage, $83 in SC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Helene nears, the National Hurricane Center has issued an over 100-page report comprehensively compiling facts about the historic storm.

The report is lengthy and examines the storm’s path, rainfall, wind intensity and deadly flash flooding. The full report can be found on the NOAA website and here are some highlights from the report:

Helene is responsible for at least 248 fatalities in the United States. Of those, at least 175 deaths are considered the direct impact of the storm. The remaining 73 are considered indirect, such as a death caused by a lack of power or other resources after the storm.

Helene is the deadliest hurricane in the contiguous U.S. since Katrina in 2005.

Most deaths were the direct impact of freshwater flooding. Flooding alone claimed 94 lives, including 77 in North Carolina and two in South Carolina.

Across the Southeast. at least 117 injuries were reported.

Helene continued to rapidly strengthen and reached a peak intensity of 138 mph. This classified the storm as a Category 4 hurricane. At this time, the storm was about 80 offshore of Florida’s Big Bend region.

When Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, it was considered the strongest landfilling hurricane in the Big Bend since reliable weather records began around 1900.

Hurricane-force wind gusts of at least 74 mph spread as far east as coastal portions of Georgia and southern South Carolina, and as far northwest as the mountains of western North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center found. 

Helene brought life-threatening wind gusts much farther inland across the southeastern United States than other hurricanes due to its fast-forward motion.

In South Carolina, the strongest observed sustained wind was 55 mph with a gust of 77 mph in Laurens.

In North Carolina, sustained winds of 80 mph were recorded at Mt. Mitchell with winds of 63 mph at Frying Pan Mountain. A wind gust of 101 mph was recorded near Banner Elk.  A wind gust of 65 mph was recorded at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Busick, NC in Yancey County recorded 30.78 inches of rain, the most of any location impacted by Helene. In South Carolina, the highest rainfall total was on Sunfish Mountain in Greenville County with 21.66 inches. 

As a result of the life-threatening rainfall, a total of 34 flash flood emergencies were issued in association with Helene.

Preliminary estimates are that at least 63 stream and river gauges exceeded their record flood levels during Helene. The French Broad River in Asheville, NC peaked at 24.8 ft, which exceeded the record of 23.1 ft recorded in 1916.

At least 2,700 people were rescued from high water. Of those, there were at least 220 rescues in Watauga County alone.

Helene produced 33 tornadoes in the United States. Of those, 3 occurred in Florida, 3 in Georgia, 21 in South Carolina and 6 in North Carolina. Nash County, NC saw the strongest tornado when an EF-3 tornado damaged 11 buildings and caused 15 injuries

The South Carolina Forestry Commission reported total timber damage of $83 million across a 20-county area, primarily in western and northwestern parts of the state. The North Carolina Forest Service estimated 822,000 acres of damaged timberland, which resulted in $214 million in damages to North Carolina forests.

Thousands of homes across the Southeast were damaged or destroyed by Helene. A few notable highlights:

Reports indicate that more than 560 structures were destroyed and at least 901 structures sustained major damage in the county, with an additional 8,920 homes/buildings incurring minor or moderate damage.

A total of 118 buildings were destroyed: 479 with major damage and 538 with minor or moderate damage. Among the damaged buildings include several buildings at Appalachian State University. The App State damage was caused when flood waters from the Boone Creek inundated some of the classroom buildings.