Hurricane Helene updates: Death toll surpasses 230 as rescue efforts continue

Helene unleashed devastation across the Southeast.

Video byLilia Geho
Last Updated: October 7, 2024, 7:41 AM EDT

More than 230 people have been killed from Hurricane Helene, which unleashed devastation across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

Helene, which made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a massive Category 4 hurricane, has become the deadliest mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005.

Sep 25, 2024, 11:35 PM EDT

Latest forecast

Helene -- currently a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 85 mph -- is now located about 425 miles south-southwest of Tampa, Florida.

ABC News
ABC News

The worst of the storm surge -- up to 20 feet -- is expected in Florida's Big Bend area, where Helene's set to make landfall.

Landfall is forecast between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Thursday as a major Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 130 mph.

Six to 12 inches of rain is in the forecast, with 18 inches projected locally.

-ABC News' Melissa Griffin

Sep 25, 2024, 6:10 PM EDT

MLB postpones Mets-Braves games in Atlanta due to weather forecast

Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that the scheduled games between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets at Truist Park in Atlanta this week have been postponed due to the forecast and the inclement weather.

The games originally scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday nights have been moved to a doubleheader on Monday, Sept. 30, according to the MLB's statement.

The first game will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET and the second game will begin 40 minutes after the last out of the first game, the MLB said.

Monday is a single-admission doubleheader with only one ticket required for both games, according to the statement.

Sep 25, 2024, 5:12 PM EDT

Helene forecast to make landfall as Category 4

Helene, currently a Category 1 hurricane, is forecast to make landfall as a major Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 130 mph.

Landfall is forecast between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Thursday in Florida's Big Bend region.

People bag sand in preparation for possible flooding on Sept. 25, 2024 in Tallahassee, Fla
Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Sep 25, 2024, 4:39 PM EDT

Mandatory evacuations in effect in at least 20 Florida counties

Mandatory evacuations are in effect in parts of at least 20 Florida counties, including Taylor, Sarasota, Gulf and Hillsborough.

A storm is seen along A1A on Sept. 25, 2024, in St. Lucie County, Fla.
Crystal Vander Weit/TCPALM via USA Today Network

Sponsored Content by Taboola