AP PHOTOS: Hurricane Helene inundates the southeastern US

Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Foundations and steps to buildings that were destroyed by the storm surge from Hurricane Helene are seen along the shoreline in the aftermath of the storm, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Torrential rain from Hurricane Helene has caused lake levels to rise on Lake James, resulting in flooded docks and gazebos, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Morganton, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery An unidentified man paddles a canoe to rescue residents and their belongings at a flooded apartment complex after Hurricane Helene passed the area on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Dustin Holmes, rear, his girlfriend Hailey Morgan, and her children Aria Skye Hall, 7, left, and Kyle Ross, 4, right, arrive to their flooded home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Crystal River, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Jill Rice looks over the damage to her store caused by flooding from Hurricane Helene on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Gulfport, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Karen Hurne surveys the damaged Swami Spirits in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Kegan Ward, assistant manager of Swami Spirits, walks through debris of the damaged store in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Destruction to the Faraway Inn Cottages and Motel is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Destruction to the Faraway Inn Cottages and Motel is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery McKinley Moore inspects the damage on his home after a tree fell over his bedroom after Hurricane Helen passed the area Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Charlotte, N.C. (Khadejeh Nikouyeh/The Charlotte Observer via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Thomas Chaves, left, and Vinny Almeida walk through floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in an attempt to reach Chaves's mother's house in the Shore Acres neighborhood Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Workers clear debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery A boat rests on a street after being relocated during flooding caused by Hurricane Helene Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Hudson, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 5:46 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico moving towards Florida, Thursday, Sept. 26 2024. (NOAA via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery A person looks over a flooded street due to Hurricane Helene late Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in New Port Richey, Fla. (Danielle Molisee via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery This photo provided by U.S. Coast Guard District Seven (USCGSoutheast) shows a man and his dog being rescued after his sailboat became disabled during Hurricane Helene approximately 25 miles off Sanibel Island, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard District Seven via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery An American flag sits in floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Halle Brooks kayaks down a street flooded by Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery A patron looks at the flooding from Hurricane Helene in the Paces neighborhood, Friday, Sept 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery A partially submerged vehicle sits in flood water from after Hurricane Helene passed the area, Friday, Sept 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery The business Chez What is seen after of Hurricane Helene moved through the area Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Tropical Weather A person walks past building foundations along the water in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Bradley Tennant looks through his house flooded with water from Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Tropical Weather Faith Cotto comforts her mother Nancy as they look at the remains of their home which burned during the flooding from Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Officer Nate Martir, a law enforcement officer from the Florida Fish Wildlife and Conservation Commission, holds an American flag that was lying on the ground amid debris, while patrolling from a high water capable swamp buggy, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Workers remove debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery A damaged 100-year-old home is seen after an Oak tree landed on it after Hurricane Helene moved through the area, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Jamir Lewis wades through floodwaters with his two daughters, Nylah and Aria, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Crystal River, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery People and pets are rescued from flooded neighborhoods in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Crystal River, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery An airboat transports residents rescued from floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Crystal River, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery A Citrus County Firefigher carries 11-year- old, Michael Cribbins, while conducting rescues from floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Crystal River, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Clarissa Lucky gives a tour of her home that flooded from Hurricane Helene near DeSoto Park, Fla., on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Tampa. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Hurricane Helene Tropical Weather Photo Gallery Residents are rescued from floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Crystal River, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
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Tangled piles of nail-spiked lumber and displaced boats littered the streets. A house lay crushed under a fern-covered oak tree toppled by the winds. Residents waded or paddled through ruddy floodwaters, hoping to find their loved ones safe, and rescue crews used fan boats to evacuate stranded people in bathrobes or wrapped in blankets.

Authorities on Friday were trying to get a handle on Hurricane Helene ‘s extreme swath of destruction, which stretched across Florida, Georgia and much of the southeastern U.S. on Friday, leaving at least 40 people dead in four states and millions without power.

Helene was the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures.

The Category 4 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) and made landfall late Thursday where Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula meet, a rural region home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways.

Floodwaters inundated cars and buildings, and the winds ripped the roofs off businesses, houses and churches. Faith Cotto and her mother, Nancy, stood outside and mourned the loss of their brick home in St. Petersburg, Florida, to another fate: Amid so much water, it burned.

A Coast Guard crew in a helicopter rescued a man and his dog after his sailboat became disabled 25 miles (40 kilometers) off southwestern Florida. Firefighters carried children across floodwaters in Crystal River, north of Tampa.

But the damage reached much farther. In Atlanta on Friday, streets plunged into reddish-brown water. Hospitals in southern Georgia were left without electricity as officials warned of severe damage to the power grid. In Tennessee, dozens of people were rescued from a hospital roof, and authorities ordered the evacuation of downtown Newport, a city of about 7,000, due to the “catastrophic failure” of a dam.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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