Hurricane Helene live: At least six dead as 10ft storm surge hits Florida and flash flood emergency in Georgia
Death toll continues to rise after Helene slammed into Florida’s coast as a Category 4 hurricane, marking one of the most powerful storms to strike US in recent memory
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At least six people have died after Hurricane Helene crashed into Florida as a Category 4 storm, pounding the west coast with “unsurvivable” conditions.
Helene has since been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still packing “life-threatening” conditions as it plows across the county with a flash flood emergency issued for metro Atlanta and as far north as Kentucky’s Appalachia on high alert for heavy rains and landslides.
The hurricane hit the state’s Big Bend region just after 11pm local time on Thursday with 140mph winds and 10ft storm surge.
At least six people have died including a driver who was killed when a sign fell onto their car in Tampa. Two others died in Wheeler County, Georgia, after their trailer crashed on a highway.
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DeSantis delivers remarks
“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where there’s been additional loss of life and certainly theres going to be loss of property,” DeSantis said during the news conference. “You’re going to have people losing their homes because of this storm.”
DeSantis advised people against going out in the storm as it hits land. He told Floridians to expect additional power outages.
Residents could be prepared for wind damage and falling trees.
A look at Hurricane Helene from space
Videos capture Hurricane Helene from space. Satellites and the ISS are capturing jaw-dropping footage of this colossal force of nature, OrbitalToday.com wrote on X.
Live: Hurricane Helene moves up Florida coast hitting Tampa
Live video shows impacts from Hurricane Helene as it moves up the Florida coast, hitting Tampa.
Hurricane Helene will make landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm, forecasters say
Hurricane Helene will bring maximum sustained winds of 140 to 155mph
“A surge of water from the Gulf of Mexico could reach 23 feet in the hardest-hit coastal areas of the Big Bend of Florida. This is two stories high and unsurvivable for people in the area,” warned AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter. “The life-threatening storm surge risk extends down through Tampa Bay where six to 10 feet of water inundation is possible.”
The greatest risk of water surge is expected along and near the coast and conditions are expected to be extremely dangerous after nightfall.
Destructive winds are expected to reach far inland, with catastrophic flash flooding hundreds of miles away from where Helene makes landfall.
“We are forecasting Helene to make landfall as a destructive Category 4 Hurricane in the Apalachicola area between Mexico Beach and Horseshoe Beach,” said Bernie Rayno.
The number of people without power in Florida has now risen to 700,000
That’s according to poweroutage.us. The number has risen over the past several hours from 400,000 to 700,000.
Storm has the potential to create additional storms
NBC News is reporting that there are three mesovortices that are small rotational patterns within the storm. The patterns can create tornadoes after landfall. Parts of Georgia are facing tornado threats from the storm.
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