Over 40 trillion gallons (151 trillion liters) of rain drenched the Southeast United States in the last week from Hurricane Helene.
Ed Clark, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Center in Alabama, described it as an “astronomical amount of precipitation,” adding that he had never seen anything like it in his 25 years working in the weather service.
The impact of that volume of water—which is enough to fill more than 60 million Olympic-size swimming pools—resulted in 140 deaths across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia after the storm made landfall on September 26, CNN reported Tuesday (October 1).
At least 40 of those fatalities occurred in Buncombe County, North Carolina.
Meteorologists estimate that Hurricane Helene resulted from a combination of two or three storm systems, with some suggesting that worsening climate change may also explain why the storm was “wetter and warmer” than other tropical storms affecting North Carolina.
Below, Bored Panda has compiled a selection of photos and videos capturing the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast.
#1 Two Forgotten Dogs Get Rescued From Their Kennels
Who the fu*k would leave their dogs in kennels. Rescued after hurricane helen by @lakemonstercl1 👏#Helene | #Florida | #NorthCarolina pic.twitter.com/DUF2S6kUM1
— Weather monitor (@Weathermonitors) October 1, 2024
#2 A US Coast Guard Rescue Of A Man And His Dog
#Helene #HurricaneHelene #USCG #dogs: 41 people killed so far by Helene. 💔💔 But here’s an amazing US Coast Guard rescue of a man and his Golden Retriever after their 36′ sailboat started taking on water near Sanibel Island, south of Tampa, Florida. 🙏🥲🐶pic.twitter.com/I5qdECTZWS
— Andy Fox 🌊🇺🇸 for Harris Walz vs Felon Trump (@factandrumor) September 28, 2024
#3 A Car Catches Fire After A Garage Floods
Image credits: onlyinfloridaa
#4 A North Carolina Resident Surrounded By Floodwaters
Image credits: Jessica Drye Turner
#5 Twin Spouts
Image credits: chrys.mariie
#6 An Alligator Hunting A Lizard
Image credits: danielrojasvlogs
#7 A Man Making The Most Of His Vacation
Storm surges 🌊 and waterspouts 🌪 aren’t exactly a lotta fun.
They’ll see … 👀 #HurricaneHelene 🌀 pic.twitter.com/zjE16QCk1t
— TLH Beer Society (@TLHBeerSociety) September 26, 2024
#8 Alligators On The Front Porch
FLORIDA, USA 🇺🇲
Alligators spotted on land amid Hurricane Helene flooding.
Stay safe, residents!
September 27, 2024 #HurricaneHelene #Florida #Helene https://t.co/N3ZcjKXiiF pic.twitter.com/f8eGeitlks
— Weather monitor (@Weathermonitors) September 27, 2024
#9 Alligators Out And About
Warning ⚠️
Be careful fooling around in the flood waters from Hurricane Helene. The alligators are out and about !!!#Helene #HurricaneHelene pic.twitter.com/RGjZPGcTzD
— Cinema Shogun (@CinemaShogun) September 27, 2024
#10 Waters Breaks The Windows And Inundates A Home
Image credits: nom_dutlisateur
#11 Yet Another Alligator
Image credits: andres.a
#12 A Man Kayaking In The Middle Of His Living Room
Florida man Matt Heller kayaks in his flooded living room during Hurricane Helene pic.twitter.com/7fcxyfbNrP
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) September 27, 2024
#13 Hurricane-Themed Cakes
Image credits: Things4FLppl
#14 The Aftermath Of The Storm At A Beach Rental Home
We bought a little beach rental property 2 years ago and put about $200k into it in renovations and then #HurricaneHelene pushed nearly 4 feet of water into the house 5 days ago.
And now this is what it looks like. #Helene pic.twitter.com/Ib7QYuJfDD
— Will Schryver (@Will_Schryver) September 30, 2024
#15 A Man Has A Drink While A Capsized Boat Washes Ashore
Image credits: Joe Raedle/Getty
#16 Another Flooded Living Room
EUA 🇺🇸 “Uma casa em North Redington Beach, Flórida, se transformou em um lago interno enquanto uma grave inundação causada pelo furacão Helene causava estragos.”
— Apocalipse- אֱמוּנָה (@369Fim) September 29, 2024