Data shows Helene was the deadliest hurricane in the US in nearly 20 years

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — With more than 200 dead – 104 in North Carolina – Hurricane Helene is the deadliest U.S. hurricane in decades.

Helene also is responsible for the most inland flooding deaths since 1972 and the most U.S. wind deaths since at least 1963, Dr. Michael Brenna, director of the National Hurricane Center, told a conference of meteorologists this week.

The September 2024 storm is estimated to have done almost $80 billion in damage to people and property across the southeast.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds, then carved a path through Georgia and the Carolinas.