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Georgia’s governor says at least 11 people have died in his state after Hurricane Helene

Georgia’s governor says at least 11 people have died in his state after Hurricane Helene

Vaseline 1 month ago

CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Emergency crews rushed Friday to rescue people trapped in flooded homes after Helene roared ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane in Florida, causing a massive storm surge and knocking out power to millions of customers in several states had turned off.

Governor Brian Kemp said at least 11 people have died in his state and dozens remain trapped in homes damaged by Helene. At least six others died in Florida and the Carolinas.

The storm made landfall late Thursday in a sparsely populated area with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km per hour) in the rural Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and resorts where Florida’s Panhandle and the Peninsula meet. But the damage extended hundreds of miles north, with flooding as far away as North Carolina, where a lake used in scenes from the movie “Dirty Dancing” exceeded a dam. Several hospitals in southern Georgia were without power.

“Thank God we’re both alive to tell about it,” Rhonda Bell said after a towering oak tree broke through the roof outside her home in Valdosta, Georgia.

Video on social media sites showed rain coming down and siding on buildings in Perry, Florida, near where the storm arrived. One local news station showed a house destroyed, and many communities imposed curfews.

“It’s really heartbreaking,” said Stephen Tucker, after the hurricane ripped off the brand new roof of her church in Perry, Florida. It needed to be replaced after Hurricane Idalia last year, and the congregation was just weeks away from moving back into the newly renovated sanctuary.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Helene’s damage in the area appears to be greater than the combined damage from Idalia and Debby last August. “It’s demoralizing,” he said.

President Joe Biden said he was praying for survivors as the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency moved into the area. The service deployed more than 1,500 workers and they assisted with 400 rescues by late morning.

County officials immediately launched boats to reach stranded people, warning that the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.

“If you are stuck and need help, please call rescuers – DO NOT TRY TO ENTER FLOOD ON YOUR OWN,” the sheriff’s office in Citrus County, Florida, warned in a Facebook post, while expressing concern that the tide could be a new could cause a wave of up to 30 percent. 10 feet (3.05 meters).

Rescuers in Tampa also used boats to reach stranded residents. “Flooding was what we warned everyone about,” Mayor Jane Castor said.

More than four million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina as of Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utilities.

In Florida, one person was killed when a sign fell on their car, and two people were reportedly killed by a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached. Trees falling on homes were blamed for deaths in Charlotte, North Carolina and Anderson County, South Carolina.

The St. Pete Pier is pictured among high winds and waves as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida Panhandle, west of Tampa Bay, on September 26, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The St. Pete Pier is pictured among high winds and waves as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida Panhandle, west of Tampa Bay, on September 26, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP

Jose Gonzales and his son Jadin Gonzales, 14, fill sandbags ahead of Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024 in Clyattville, Georgia.
Jose Gonzales and his son Jadin Gonzales, 14, fill sandbags ahead of Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024 in Clyattville, Georgia.

The hurricane made landfall near the mouth of the Aucilla River on Florida’s Gulf Coast. That location was only about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of where Hurricane Idalia struck last year with nearly the same intensity, causing widespread damage.

As the eye of the hurricane passed over Valdosta, a city of 55,000 near the Florida border, dozens of people huddled in a darkened hotel lobby early Friday. As the wind howled outside, water dripped from the light fixtures in the lobby dining area.

Fermin Herrera, 20, his wife and their two-month-old daughter left their room on the top floor of the hotel, where they took shelter because they feared trees would fall on their Valdosta home.

“We heard some rumbling,” Herrera said, as she rocked the sleeping baby in a downstairs hallway.

Helene is the third storm to hit the city in just over a year. Tropical Storm Debby caused power outages for thousands of people in August, while Hurricane Idalia damaged an estimated 1,000 homes in Valdosta and surrounding Lowndes County a year ago.

Shortly after crossing land, Helene weakened to a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds dropping to 70 miles per hour. As of 11 a.m. Friday, the storm was about 100 miles (165 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta and was moving north at 32 mph (52 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 47 mph (75 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

Vera Kelly of Tallahassee lies on a cot after being evacuated with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren to a hurricane shelter at Fairview Middle School before Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024 in Leon County, Florida.
Vera Kelly of Tallahassee lies on a cot after being evacuated with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren to a hurricane shelter at Fairview Middle School before Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024 in Leon County, Florida.

Forecasters expected the system to weaken further as it moves into Tennessee and Kentucky and dumps heavy rain across the Appalachian Mountains, risking mudslides and flash flooding.

Even before landfall, the storm’s wrath was felt widely, with sustained tropical storm force winds and hurricane force winds along the west coast of Florida. Officials pleaded with residents to evacuate.

“Please write your name, date of birth and important information on your arm or leg in a PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and your family can be notified,” the sheriff’s office in mostly rural Taylor County, Florida, warned. those who chose not to evacuate. a Facebook message. The dire advice was similar to what other officials have given during previous hurricanes.

Outside Florida, up to 10 inches of rain had fallen in the mountains of North Carolina, with another 14 inches more possible before the deluge ends, paving the way for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything else . seen in the past century. Evacuations were underway in several parts of the state, and the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office declared all roads closed.

School districts and several universities have canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday and cancellations were widespread elsewhere in Florida and beyond.

A day before reaching the U.S., Helene flooded parts of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, flooding streets and toppling trees as it brushed the resort town of Cancun and passed offshore. In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it swept across the island.

At one point, forecasters feared that hurricane conditions could extend as far as 100 miles north of the Georgia-Florida line. Curfews were imposed in many cities and counties in South Georgia.

Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year due to record warm ocean temperatures.

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Payne reported from Tallahassee, Florida, and Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Valdosta, Georgia; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.

Flooded streets are seen in Madeira Beach, Florida on September 26, 2024.
Flooded streets are seen in Madeira Beach, Florida on September 26, 2024.

Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP

Camryn Frick, left, and Jillian Sternick, both 22, of Tampa, hold hands as they cross a flooded street together along Bayshore Boulevard on September 26, 2024 in Tampa, Florida.
Camryn Frick, left, and Jillian Sternick, both 22, of Tampa, hold hands as they cross a flooded street together along Bayshore Boulevard on September 26, 2024 in Tampa, Florida.

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