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Videos, photos: Helene damage in the Carolinas

Madoc Meredith September 27, 2024

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – As Helene moved through the Carolinas on Friday, the storm caused severe damage to many communities in both states.

Helene made its first landfall around 11 p.m. Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. The system quickly weakened as it moved inland and was downgraded to a tropical storm just minutes before 5 a.m. Friday.

Despite being a tropical storm when it hit the Carolinas hardest, it still received inches of rain in Helene and recorded wind gusts over 50 miles per hour in Charlotte. This strong wind and rain toppled trees, flooded streets and yards, and left more than a million people without power.

Western North Carolina, particularly the Boone and Asheville areas, were hit hard by the storm overnight Thursday into Friday. Boone experienced severe flooding on Friday.

Damage was seen across the Carolinas on Friday, including in the Charlotte area. Check out viewer-submitted videos and photos of the damage below.

Videos from Helene-Schaden

Watch a tree fall after its landfall in Bethlehem, North Carolina, amid Tropical Storm Helene. Video credit: Brian LeBlanc.

A tree falling during high winds in Shelby, North Carolina was caught on camera and sent to WBTV by a viewer.

Video shot by Baine Martin shows flooding on Bamboo Road along Mutton Creek in Boone, NC, amid heavy rains caused by then-Hurricane Helene.

Video captured by Baine Martin shows flooding on Bamboo Road along Mutton Creek in Boone, NC, amid heavy rains caused by then-Hurricane Helene.

The Clarks Creek flooding was captured by viewer Rick Rossman and broadcast to WBTV in Charlotte in the midst of Hurricane Helene.

Torrence Creek Greenway was flooded by Hurricane Helene in Huntersville on September 27, 2024. Video captured by viewer John Corner.

Flooding in Mount Holly, North Carolina, was captured on video on September 27, 2024, in the midst of then-Hurricane Helene, which was downgraded to a tropical storm.

A bystander video showed the flooding in North Carolina on September 27th after then-Hurricane Helene. Video submitted by Michael Mckibben. Exact location unknown.

A commercial vehicle from Charlotte was towed Friday after it was crushed by a fallen tree during then-Hurricane Helene.