Helene Dumps Rain on Millions of US Homes That Lack Flood Insurance
The storm’s downpours have brought flooding far inland in the Southeast and Appalachia, where few homeowners are insured against it.
A flooded street in Atlanta on Friday, September 27.
Photographer: Richard Pierrin/AFP/Getty ImagesOn Thursday night Helene crashed into Florida’s coast as a Category 4 hurricane. The giant storm with 140-mile-per-hour winds made landfall close to where Hurricane Debby hit in August and where Idalia struck just over a year ago. It quickly made its way inland, knocking out power for millions. And even before that, it started dumping rain — now 12 to 15 inches across a swath of Georgia and South Carolina, and a stunning 29-plus inches in Busick, North Carolina.
The disaster underscores Americans’ dangerously low levels of flood insurance coverage, especially away from coastal areas.