Hurricane Helene made landfall on Thursday evening and caused enormous amounts of damage. More than 20 people are dead. Image: National Hurricane Center
When Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, it was a Category 4 storm. As of this reporting, over 20 people are dead and millions of people are without power.
The storm hit Florida’s Big Bend area late on Thursday at around 11:10 p.m. EDT with with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph before quickly weakening as it headed inland. By early Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center classified Helene as a tropical depression. Still, though, it is wreaking havoc. Strong winds, storms surges, and heavy rains are pummeling the area.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced that in his state, 11 people had been killed. One of them was a first responder. Five more people were confirmed dead by the Pinellas County administrator, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that at least one person died in Tampa after a traffic sign hit a vehicle and another fell victim to a tree that hit a house in Dixie County. Two people have been confirmed dead in North Carolina, as well.
By 2 p.m. EDT, Helene had made its way to the southeast of Louisville, Kentucky, and was heading northwest at around 30 mph. This is the fourth hurricane to make landfall on the Gulf Coast in 2024, and the third to hit Big Bend in a year.
“The early reports we’ve received is that the damage in those counties that were really in the eye of the storm has exceeded the damage of Idalia and Debby combined,” DeSantis told reporters Friday.
Somewhere around four-million people throughout Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia are without power, but crews are working diligently to get the lights back on as quickly as possible. Over 1,000 flights have been cancelled and many gas stations are shut down or out of fuel.
“A turn toward the north is expected this morning, taking the center over central and northeastern Georgia. After that, Helene is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley later today and Saturday,” the hurricane center reported. “Continued weakening is expected, and Helene is expected to become a post-tropical low this afternoon or tonight. However, the fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States, including over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians.”
