Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE and NPR investigate why the U.S. is more vulnerable than ever to climate change-related storms and how Hurricane Helene became an ominous warning about America’s lack of preparedness.

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In “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning,” Laura Sullivan goes on the ground in North Carolina in the days after the 2024 storm and speaks with survivors who describe the devastation, fear and shock they experienced at seeing entire communities washed away. She revisits Houston, Texas, where thousands of homes remain in an area that already flooded during Harvey in 2017. Sullivan also returns to Staten Island, where, according to a former FEMA director, the billion dollar rebuilding process may not have been enough to prevent mass destruction should another Superstorm Sandy hit.

“The federal government spends more than $50 billion a year to help communities recover, including properties that have flooded repeatedly in what seems like an endless cycle of destruction and rebuilding,” says Sullivan. “Our new joint investigation examines the forces fueling this cycle, whether places that have rebuilt after devastating floods are any safer today, and how this process is now playing out in North Carolina.”

Finally, “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning” looks at how, as climate change-related storms become more frequent and severe in the U.S., there are concerns that incremental attempts to mitigate against future flooding across the country aren’t going to be enough.

“Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning” is a FRONTLINE production with Five O’Clock Films in association with NPR and Perimeter Pictures. The correspondent is Laura Sullivan. The writer, producer and director is Jonathan Schienberg. The producers are Dana Miller Ervin, Lauren Ezell, Kate McCormick and Laura Sullivan. The senior producer is Frank Koughan. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

Explore reporting related to “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning” on our website:

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FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen, and Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan. Additional support for “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning” is provided by the GBH Climate and Environment Fund.

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