Overview

• NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information ranks Helene as the seventh costliest U.S. hurricane on record.
• In Cocke County, Tennessee, the Pigeon River crested at 29.37 feet and the French Broad reached 23.34 feet, marking extreme high-water events.
• The Nolichucky River hit 33.88 feet at Embreeville before the gauge failed, prompting evacuations near the Nolichucky Dam, which held and remains operational.
• Inflows from swollen rivers drove Douglas Lake more than 21 feet higher in three days, with Douglas Dam operations limiting downstream flooding.
• Georgia reported 33 deaths and an estimated $6.5 billion hit to agriculture and timber, according to a University of Georgia assessment.