Hurricane Helene, a powerful category 4 storm, has caused widespread devastation across the southern U.S., with the death toll now exceeding 150.
Search teams are battling difficult conditions as they navigate washed-out bridges and hike through remote areas to reach isolated communities.
Crews continue to slog through knee-deep debris and mud in the aftermath of the storm, which made landfall in Florida on Thursday.
Helene brought an astonishing 40 trillion gallons of rain, a volume so vast it could fill Lake Tahoe or 60 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue calculated the rainfall using data from satellite and ground measurements, estimating that if this rain had fallen in the West, it could have filled both Lake Powell and Lake Mead twice over.
Over 40 trillion gallons of rain fell, flooding towns and overwhelming local infrastructure.The devastation is not limited to the rainfall. Entire towns in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida have been washed away as a result of the severe flooding.
North Carolina state climatologist Kathie Dello noted that these storms are growing wetter and warmer, likely exacerbated by the ongoing climate crisis.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell emphasized that warmer Gulf of Mexico waters, a consequence of climate change, have been fueling the increasing intensity of storms like Helene.
In some areas, such as Asheville, North Carolina, rainfall totals exceeded 20 inches over three days, far surpassing the thresholds for once-in-a-thousand-year events.
Experts say the mountainous terrain amplified the severity of the flooding, with water cascading quickly into lower-lying areas. With more than 1.7 million homes and businesses still without power, the full extent of the damage may take weeks to assess.
Rescue teams continued their efforts, but the region’s infrastructure was not designed to withstand such extreme conditions.