Death toll from Helene rises to above 40 as it continues inward – as it happened

People look at a disabled SUV swamped by the flood waters in Atlanta, Georgia. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

1.15am BST

Closing summary

Thanks for following our coverage of Helene. Here’s a recap of today’s events:

• Tropical Depression Helene has killed more than 40 people during its rampage through the south-eastern US, according to a tally by the Guardian and the Associated Press on Friday evening.

• Every person stranded on the roof of a hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, has been rescued, according to Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee senator.

• A false alarm of a dam failure was issued in Newport, Tennessee. Officials in Cocke county urged all of downtown Newport to evacuate immediately after a report of a North Carolina dam suffering a “catastrophic failure”. The Tennessee emergency management agency said later the dam had not failed.

• A curfew in Asheville, North Carolina, has been announced as most of the city remains without power.

• A warning for two tornadoes was issued for Sampson county and Nash county in North Carolina.

• Mudslides and floodwaters from Helene are causing chaos on the roads in several states. The storm washed out a section of Interstate-40 at the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, officials said.

• Helene downgraded to a tropical depression. The National Hurricane Center’s 2pm ET advisory has further downgraded Helene to a tropical depression. But it warns the storm is still producing “historic and catastrophic flooding” across multiple states.

• North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, said Helene was “one of the worst storms in modern history”, and warned the end of the rain was not the end of the threat to his state because of flooding and high wind concerns. At least two people were killed.

Updated at 1.27am BST

12.55am BST

The National Weather Service in South Carolina said that many locations have experienced “devastating impacts” after the passing of Helene.

“Historic flooding will continue with numerous rivers continuing to rise as runoff gradually filters down river,” reads a Facebook post from NWS.

Residents in Greenville-Spartanburg remained without power and many roads remained blocked by downed trees and power lines or were washed out from flooding on Friday.