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At least nine dead, millions without power as Helene powers through Southeast
By Clyde Hughes,
5 hours ago
Sept. 27 (UPI) -- At least nine people have died and millions are without power in the southeastern United States as Helene, a tropical storm as of Friday morning, tore through the region.
Members of the Atlanta Fire Department's Swift Water Rescue Team wait for one of their boats to return in the flood waters of Peachtree Creek in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene in Atlanta on Friday. Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA-EFE
At least four people died in Georgia including two in Laurens County in the center of the state and two others in Wheeler County.
Two people were killed in North Carolina, including a person killed when a tree fell on a house in Charlotte and another in a traffic crash in Catawba County.
Another two people were killed in Florida , where Helene made landfall as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with one also being killed by a falling tree on a home in Dixie County and a second on Interstate 4 near Tampa as a sign fell on a car.
According to the website PowerOutage.us , 1.36 million homes lost power in South Carolina, 1.06 million in Georgia and 1.04 million in Florida on Friday morning. The center of the storm was located 80 miles from Atlanta mid-morning on Friday.
Debris from what was left after Hurricane Helene litters the area of Cedar Key, Fla., on Friday. Photo by Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA-EFE
In Florida, Pasco Sheriff's Office said on X Friday that its Fire Rescue crews, other law enforcement units and the National Guard rescued about 200 people from fast-rising floodwater overnight.
More than 800 flights were canceled on Friday affecting many parts of the country since Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the airports caught in the storm, is one of the nation's major hubs.
Rescuers out of USCG Air Station Clearwater saved a man and his dog, on Thursday, September 26, 2024, during Hurricane Helene after his 36-ft sailboat became disabled and started taking on water approximately 25 miles off Sanibel Island. Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida late Thursday, as a Category 4 storm with winds up to 140 mph. Photo via U.S. Coast Guard/UPI
Other major airports affected were Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and the Tampa International Airport in Florida.
"The main hazard is very heavy rainfall ongoing over portions of the southeastern United States, which is causing historic and life-threatening flooding," the National Hurricane Center said on Friday . "Helene is expected to move slower to the northwest later [Friday] and then stall over the Tennessee Valley [Friday night] and through the weekend as it merges with a mid- to upper-level low.
A visitor braves the high surf, storm surge and high winds of Hurricane Helene to take photos at the downtown of Cedar Key, Florida, on Thursday. The storm moved into Georgia and the Carolinas on Friday. Photo by Christobal Herrera -Ulashkevi/EPA-EFE
"This merger will also lead to extratropical transition, which is expected to occur later [Friday]. The expected slow motion could result in significant flooding over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys over the southern Appalachians through the weekend."
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