CRAWFORDSVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Authorities rescued people stranded in floodwaters that left more than 3 million customers in the dark across much of the southeastern United States. hurricane helen It made landfall in northwest Florida overnight as a Category 4 storm before weakening to a tropical storm over Georgia early Friday.
Helen made landfall amid warnings from the National Hurricane Center huge system can be created 'Nightmarish' storm surge. At least four people were killed in the storm.
Videos on social media sites showed rain pouring down and peeling off the exterior of buildings in Perry, Florida, near where Helen made landfall. One local news station showed the house turned upside down. The community and surrounding large portions of Taylor County were without power.
In Citrus County, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of Perry, first responders were called out by boat early Friday to rescue people trapped by floodwaters.
“If you are trapped and need help, please call for rescuers. Do not tread on flood water yourself,” the sheriff's office warned in a Facebook post. They posted that the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.
With maximum sustained wind speeds of 70 mph (110 kph), Helen continued to weaken as it moved further inland over Georgia. The storm was about 65 kilometers (65 kilometers) east of Macon and about 100 miles (165 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, moving north at 30 mph (48 kph) at 5 a.m., the Miami Hurricane Center reported.
“We expect it to weaken further. It will turn north, turn northwest, and eventually move into Tennessee and Kentucky, where it will merge with the funnel system.” said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane expert at the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is expected to weaken Friday afternoon, with wind speeds below 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour), but could still dump widespread heavy rain across the Appalachians, causing mudslides and flash flooding, Beeven said.
According to the Hurricane Center, Helen roared ashore near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida's Gulf Coast around 11:10 p.m. Thursday. Maximum sustained wind speeds were estimated at 140 miles per hour (225 kilometers per hour). The site was only about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of the site. hurricane idrija Last year, it made landfall with almost the same ferocity and caused widespread damage.
Tanner Flynn stands in shallow water near crashing waves as Hurricane Helen passes offshore on September 26, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Joe Radle/Getty Images)
A man crosses a storm surge flooded area on the Gulfport, Florida coast as Hurricane Helen moves west through the Gulf of Mexico on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post, via Getty Images)
A capsized boat washes up on shore as Hurricane Helen rocks offshore in St. Petersburg, Florida, September 26, 2024. (Photo by Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Gulf of Mexico waters push toward the beach as Hurricane Helen rumbles offshore in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Waves from the Gulf of Mexico crash on the shore as Hurricane Helen roars offshore in St. Pete Beach, Florida on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Roads near Peachtree Creek flood after Hurricane Helen brought heavy rain overnight in Atlanta, Georgia, September 27, 2024. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Roads near Peachtree Creek flood after Hurricane Helen brought heavy rain overnight in Atlanta, Georgia, September 27, 2024. Hurricane Helen made landfall in the Florida Panhandle late Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane and is now considered a tropical storm as it moves north. (Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Hurricane Helen emergency shelters are set up at Leon High School on Thursday, September 26, 2024 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Ted Richardson/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Team Fishel lineman Charles Sterling is beaten by the rain as he passes a line of power line trucks set up in a field on Thursday, September 26, 2024 in The Villages, Florida. Thousands of trucks are being installed by Duke. Energy for damage caused by Hurricane Helen. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service
On Thursday night, the eye of the hurricane passed near Valdosta, Georgia, and the storm rapidly moved north toward Georgia. The National Hurricane Center has issued an extreme wind warning for the area. That means the potential for hurricane-force winds in excess of 115 mph (185 kph).
Dozens of people crowded into the dark lobby of the hotel in the city of 55,000 people near the Florida Line just after midnight Friday, as the wind howled outside. Emergency lighting in the hall, flashlights, and cell phones were generating electricity providing the only illumination. Water dripped from light fixtures in the lobby dining area and pieces of the roof fell to the ground outside.
Fermín Herrera, 20, his wife and two-month-old daughter fled their hotel room on the top floor and evacuated because they feared a tree would fall on their home in Valdosta.
“I heard a rumbling sound,” Herrera said as she held her baby, who was sleeping in the hallway downstairs. “At first we couldn't see anything. After a while it got more intense. It looked like a gutter was hitting the window. So we decided to leave.”
Residents of Thomas County, Georgia, are under a stay-at-home order, and the sheriff's office announced the curfew has been extended until noon Friday.
“This curfew will help protect first responders and citizens in our community as conditions remain extremely dangerous. Please shelter in place,” the office said. Posted online.
Helen is the third storm to hit the city in just one year. In August, Tropical Storm Debbie knocked out power to thousands of homes, and a year ago, Hurricane Idalia damaged an estimated 1,000 homes in Valdosta and surrounding Lowndes County.
“I feel like a lot of us know what to do now,” Herrera said. “We've been through some storms and developed a thick skin.”
Helen urged. Hurricane and flash flood warnings It extends far beyond the coast into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. More than 1.2 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, more than 900,000 in Georgia and more than 927,000 in the Carolinas, according to the tracking site. Poweroutage.us. The governors of those states, as well as Alabama and Virginia, have all declared states of emergency.
One person was killed in Florida when a sign fell on a car, and two people were reported dead in south Georgia, where a storm was approaching as a possible tornado hit. One person was killed in Charlotte, North Carolina, when a tree fell on a house during a storm early Friday morning.
“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, there will very likely be additional loss of life and certainly loss of property,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference Thursday. It's going to be a situation.” night.
Even before landing, storm's anger Tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force wind gusts were sustained and felt widely along Florida's west coast. Water washed over roads on Siesta Key near Sarasota and covered several intersections in St. Pete Beach. Rising waters washed ashore with wood and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago.
Beyond Florida, the North Carolina mountains could receive up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain and up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) more before the deluge ends, forecasters say could be the worst of all. Prepared for flood warning that there will be. seen in the past century.
In Valdosta, Georgia, near the Florida border, heavy rain began early Thursday and the wind picked up. The National Weather Service said more than a dozen counties in Georgia could experience hurricane-force winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph).
The storm made landfall in the sparsely populated Great Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation retreats where Florida's panhandle and peninsula meet.
“Write your name, date of birth, and important information in permanent marker on your arm or leg so we can identify you and notify your family,” the sheriff's office in largely rural Taylor County says. Book warned those who chose not to evacuate. postdisastrous advice similar to what other officials have dolled out during past hurricanes.
School districts and several universities canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, with cancellations spreading to other parts of Florida and beyond.
Helen is likely to weaken as it moves inland, but damaging winds and heavy rain are expected to reach the southern Appalachians, where landslides are possible, forecasters said. Tennessee was also among the states expected to be flooded.
Helen had Wetlands of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula On Wednesday, it flooded streets, passed offshore and scoured the resort city of Cancun. In western Cuba, Helen knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it passed over the island.
Hurricane conditions are expected for areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida border. The state opened parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. Curfews were imposed in many cities and counties in south Georgia.
“This is one of the biggest storms we've ever seen,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said.
For Atlanta, Helen could be the worst strike in a major city in the Inland South in 35 years, said Marshall Shepard, a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia.
Helen is the eighth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. Due to record-breaking sea temperatures.
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The Associated Press contributed. Mr. Payne reported from Tallahassee, Florida, and Mr. Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Seth Borenstein of New York, Jeff Amy of Atlanta, Russ Bynum of Valdosta, Georgia, Danica Coto of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Andrea Rodriguez of Havana, Mark Stevenson and Maria Bertha of Mexico City, and María Bertha of Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writer Claire Rush contributed to this report.
