Hurricane Helene slammed into the Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday night, leaving many without power and dealing with flooded streets and roadways. The fast-moving storm has now been downgraded to tropical storm status. But residents from Florida to Georgia woke up to nightmarish scenes.
Helene packed 140 mph winds as it roared onshore in Florida’s Big Bend area. Damage, though, spread throughout the southern states. A strong storm surge sent sailboats bobbing up and down. Some even were torn away from their boat stalls, too. Hurricanes that reach the size of Helene have a history of destroying small towns located in relative obscurity.
Storm Chasers Follow Path of Helene
Storm chasers and television crews braved the heavy rains and powerful winds to show what was happening on the ground. At one point, rain bands connected to Helene covered the entire northern Florida area. They also struck Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana at different times. Hurricane Helene was a Category 4, a major hurricane, when making landfall.
⬇️ You’re standing on I-40, looking down at U.S. 74.
❗ The Blue Ridge Parkway bridge is in the distance.
⚠️ Don’t go out today. It’s not safe.#Helene #ncwx pic.twitter.com/bZhAJOKLIu— NCDOT Asheville Area (@NCDOT_Asheville) September 27, 2024
In Citrus County, Fla., first responders went out in boats to work on rescuing people stuck or stranded at their homes or on roads, The Associated Press reported. “If you are trapped and need help please call for rescuers – DO NOT TRY TO TREAD FLOODWATERS YOURSELF,” the Citrus County sheriff’s office warned in a Facebook post.
“Thank God we’re both alive to tell about it,” Rhonda Bell said after a towering oak tree outside her home in Valdosta, Georgia, smashed through the roof.
“Flooding was what we had warned everyone about,” Tampa, Fla., Mayor Jane Castor said. A power-outage-centric website indicated that 4 million homes and businesses did not have power on Friday morning. These areas were between Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. It’s also been reported that one person died when a sign fell on the person’s car. Falling trees reportedly killed people in Anderson County, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C.
Family Took Shelter In Georgia
In Valdosta, Ga., Fermin Herrera, 20, his wife, and their 2-month-old daughter left their room at the top of a hotel. They took shelter there due to dangerous situations revolving around falling trees on their home. “We heard some rumbling,” Herrera said. “We didn’t see anything at first. After a while the intensity picked up. It looked like a gutter that was banging against our window. So we made a decision to leave.”
Fox News reported that the Pasco (Fla.) County Sheriff’s Office said first responders there had responded to more than 200 water rescue calls. At one point, 65 people had been rescued. More rescues were taking place, too.
Meanwhile, a Georgia police deputy escaped suffering injuries when a tree fell on his patrol car. That was at a time when the storm was lashing land areas with hurricane-force winds. The Clayton County (Ga.) Police Department indicated that the police officer was going home early Friday morning after working through the storm. Then, the tree fell on the vehicle’s front area as he was on Highway 138.
In the aftermath of major storms like this one, it takes cities and metropolitan areas affected by it time to recover. This goes double for any areas where there is not dense population. For instance, Florida coast areas where fishing towns or villages are located probably have a lot of work ahead of them. Southern states are going to be working overtime to help people find safe shelter. Other people are going to be sizing up damage to their homes or property on Friday and into the weekend.
Ahead of the storm’s landfall, President Joe Biden declared some states as disaster areas. This allows for federal funding and emergency crews to go right into the heart of troubled areas.
The storm packed quite a wallop. Federal, state, and local officials are now focused on getting people safe while also identifying troubled areas.
