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Hurricane Helene live updates: 84 dead when storm does 'biblical' damage

Helene's storm surge, wind damage and inland flooding has been catastrophic.

ByEmily Shapiro, David Brennan, Leah Sarnoff, Julia Reinstein, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: September 26, 2024, 6:40 PM EDT

The storm surge, wind damage and inland flooding from Hurricane Helene have been catastrophic, flooding neighborhoods, stranding residents, destroying homes and toppling trees in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

Dozens have been killed.

Helene, which made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 hurricane, was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend on record.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Sep 26, 2024, 6:29 PM EDT

Helene strengthens to Category 4 hurricane

As Hurricane Helene nears landfall in Florida, the storm has grown to Category 4 strength with 130 mph winds.

Sep 26, 2024, 6:36 PM EDT

President Biden warns Hurricane Helene could be 'significant and deadly'

President Joe Biden addressed the dangerous conditions Hurricane Helene poses on its track to make landfall Thursday.

"Take this seriously. I -- from the bottom of my heart -- please take it seriously, anybody listening to this," Biden said during a White House event on gun violence.

"The tendency is to say, 'I can do this,' but you can't. Twenty-foot storm surge. You can't," Biden added.

People are splashed by churning surf from Tampa Bay as Hurricane Helene passes offshore, Sept. 26, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Officials have forecast inundation from Hurricane Helene could reach as high as 20 feet in Florida's Big Bend region.

Biden also warned about the storm surge beyond just the path of the hurricane.

"The potential of storm surge is well beyond the immediate path [of] the hurricane; [it] could be significant and deadly," Biden added. "You know, for you and your family's sakes, I urge everyone in and near the path of the hurricane to listen to local officials and follow evacuation orders and be told to do so."

Sep 26, 2024, 6:05 PM EDT

Red Cross calls for blood donations ahead of Hurricane Helene

After blood shortages in August, the American Red Cross told ABC News the organization's blood supply is no longer at emergency levels, but encouraged people in areas unaffected by Hurricane Helene to donate.

Ahead of the storm's landfall in Florida, the Red Cross sent hundreds of blood products to Florida, and distributed blood products to ensure blood remains available for patients in the affected areas.

American Red Cross Vehicle in Queens, New York.
Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

"Our immediate concern is the potential interruption of our blood collection efforts in the Southeast due to Hurricane Helene. We anticipate a number of blood drives in the impacted areas to be canceled or otherwise affected in the coming days, disrupting our ability to collect necessary and lifesaving blood products," a Red Cross spokesperson told ABC News.

"We really need people in unaffected areas to step up and donate blood to help make up for the uncollected donations that will result from Hurricane Helene," the spokesperson added.

Sep 26, 2024, 5:42 PM EDT

Harris addresses Hurricane Helene: 'Take this storm very seriously'

Vice President Kamala Harris began a White House event on gun violence Thursday by first addressing Hurricane Helene, forecast to make landfall in Florida tonight.

"The president and I, of course, are monitoring the case and the situation closely, and we urge everyone who is watching at this very moment to take this storm very seriously and please follow the guidance of the local officials," Harris said.

Harris said she and President Biden will continue working with state and local officials "to ensure that everyone is safe and to protect communities before, during and after the storm," Harris said.