How Helene became the near-perfect storm that caused widespread destruction across the South

Hurricane Helene killed and destroyed far and wide – from Tampa to Atlanta to Asheville, North Carolina – its strong winds, heavy rains and sheer size made for a perfect mix of devastation.

The storm made landfall late Thursday along a largely undeveloped area of ​​pine trees and salt marshes on Florida's Big Bend coast, but immediately showed its far-reaching force several hundred miles away. At least 64 people were confirmed dead as of Sunday morning.

Tampa Bay was inundated by a massive storm surge that sent water up to people's attics. More than 11 inches of rain fell in Atlanta, more than any 48-hour period in recorded history. So many trees were toppled in South Carolina that at one point more than 40 percent of the state lost power. In North Carolina, levees threatened to fail and entire communities were paralyzed by flooding. Floods inundated a Tennessee hospital so quickly that more than 50 patients had to be rescued from the roof by helicopter.

How could a single storm cause destruction so far away?

Dan Brown, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center near Miami, said Helene has all the characteristics that make a storm largely destructive.

It was large and about 560 kilometers wide. It was strong, with winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) when it made landfall late Thursday, causing a widespread storm surge. It brought heavy rains. And it was fast, racing at speeds of up to 24 miles per hour (39 km/h) offshore and 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) inland.

He compared the geographical extent of Helene's destruction to 1972's Hurricane Agnes, 1989's Hurricane Hugo and 2004's Hurricane Ivan.

“Systems that are very powerful, large and moving quickly unfortunately bring the potential for impacts and damage far inland,” Brown said Saturday.

Here's a look at Helene's many deadly tentacles.

Helene's devastation began Thursday, hours before it made landfall as it swept through the Gulf of Mexico. Its then 120 mile per hour (193 km/h) winds caused a storm surge that pushed 6 to 15 feet (2 to 4.5 meters) of water into island and coastal neighborhoods along Florida's west coast.

Nine people who drowned were residents who remained behind after their neighborhoods in the Tampa Bay area were ordered evacuated.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri expressed his frustration – issuing evacuation orders was not a decision taken lightly, he said. Many who ignored officers then called for help, while some sought refuge from the rising water in their attics. Officials tried to help with boats and conspicuous vehicles, but were unable to reach many parts of the city.

“We presented our arguments, we told people what they had to do, and they changed their mind,” Gualtieri said at a news conference Friday.

Late Thursday, Helene's eyes fell on Florida's northwest coast in the Big Bend area, where the panhandle juts west out of the peninsula – Hurricanes Idalia and Debby had hit the area in the past 13 months.

Susan Saul's Hartway had evacuated her seaside home – it was gone when she returned on Friday.

“I knew it was going to be bad, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad,” Hartway said. “This is incredible.”

After landing, Helene raced to Georgia. Among the more than 20 dead were a 27-year-old mother and her one-month-old twins who died Friday when trees fell on their home in Thomson, west of Augusta. An 89-year-old woman died when trees fell on her nearby home.

Rhonda Bell and her husband spent a sleepless night in the downstairs bedroom of their century-old home just outside Valdosta, where Helene's midpoint was just after midnight.

The wind snapped tree branches, ripped off neighbors' roof shingles and knocked over fence panels in the neighborhood with train tracks on one edge. Then a towering oak tree crashed through the roof of an upstairs bedroom.

“I just felt the whole house shaking,” Bell said. “Thank God we’re both still alive and can tell about it.”

Atlanta was hit by 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain, the heaviest 48-hour rainfall since the city began keeping records in 1878. Streets were flooded and cars were submerged. Firefighters rescued at least 20 people.

Heavy rains from Helene in the state's western mountains caused massive flooding and mudslides in the Asheville area, disrupting most transportation and making roads impassable.

Video published online shows large parts of the city under water.

More than 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) away in Texas, Jessica Drye Turner begged on Facebook Friday for someone to rescue her family members stranded on the roof of her Asheville home.

But in a follow-up message Saturday, Turner said the roof collapsed before help arrived and her parents, both in their 70s, and her 6-year-old nephew drowned.

“I cannot express in words the sadness, heartache and devastation my sisters and I are going through,” she wrote.

Jeff Muenstermann and his wife Lisa, friends of Turner, told The Associated Press on Saturday that they spoke with Turner after she posted the initial call for help. At her request, they sent a message to members of the Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, where they are all present, to pray for the family's safety in North Carolina.

“I just thought they were going to be saved,” Jeff Muenstermann said. “I asked everyone to pray and they did. And then a few hours later her husband called me completely distraught and said…we lost her. They all drowned.”

The storm was particularly deadly in South Carolina. The biggest impact appears to be falling trees. The storm also caused tornadoes in the state.

In Saluda County, two firefighters were killed when a tree fell on their truck while they were answering a call. Four people were killed by falling trees in Greenville County. Also in Aiken County, four people were killed by trees falling on homes, including a 78-year-old husband and his 74-year-old wife.

Heavy rains in Helene caused the state's eastern rivers to overflow their banks and threaten to breach dams, endangering residents and forcing them to flee.

Patients and others at a hospital near the North Carolina border had to be evacuated to the roof Friday as torrents from the overflowing Nolichucky River poured into the building.

Unicoi County Hospital tried to evacuate 11 patients and dozens more, but the water was too treacherous for Tennessee Emergency Management Agency boats to navigate.

Helicopters were flown in to rescue. Eventually everyone was evacuated.