Hurricane Helene Wrecks Infrastructure, Leaving Drivers Stranded

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After much speculation and many warnings about Hurricane Helene, the storm has lived up to the hype, leaving much of the southeastern United States in chaos. Portions of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee have been devastated by floods, high winds, tornados, and landslides, leaving roads and bridges impassible.

Watch a couple rescue a man trapped in a flooded truck.

Especially bad are eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. In fact, North Carolina’s Department of Transportation has said “all roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed.”

NC DOT says both I-40 and I-26 have been damaged to the point they are impassable at multiple locations. Other highways are completely underwater, washed out, or buried. In other words, everyone needs to stay home and wait for the roads to be cleared.

Meanwhile in Unicoi County, Tennessee all bridges on I-26 have been lost thanks to massive flooding. That means the interstate isn’t an option for anyone looking to pass through, along with many of the roads.

To have three interstates shut down is catastrophic.

For those who didn’t evacuate before the storm, it might be too late to get out until the waters recede and crews can repair the damage. And who knows how long that will take. The recovery from Helene might be months or longer.

A reporter from WSB-TV showed on live television a flooded road in Dekalb County, Georgia where cars were stalled out. During that live shot, another car drove into the floodwaters and stalled, with a second driver realizing the danger and turning around. As she’s explaining in the footage, it’s best to just stay home instead of taking chances when the roads are so iffy.

The wise thing to do if you’re in the region is to stay home and keep off the roads unless there’s a genuine emergency. It doesn’t take much water to stall out most cars, plus any real current will likely pick your vehicle up so your tires don’t get traction, rendering you helpless.

We still can’t believe the extent of the damage as reports come in from local news outlets. As the floodwaters recede and more information is gathered by reporters, we expect the situation to be even more grim.

Image via NCDOT/X

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