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Helene comes ashore: 3 dead, 2 million plus without power

Vaseline September 27, 2024

By means of Tim Harris and Jan Wesner Childs

less than an hour ago

At least three people have been confirmed to have died as a result of the storm.
Helene made landfall late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane near Perry, Florida.
Officials are reminding residents that staying indoors is the best course of action as flooding continues.

Hurricane Helene has made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near Perry, Florida, bringing devastating storm surge, high winds and heavy rainfall. At least three people died as a result. To see our coverage from yesterday as the storm approached, click here.

Here’s the latest news as the storm moved inland:

(5:40 AM ET) Pinellas County 911 ‘Extremely Busy’

According to the Pinellas County, Florida, Department of Emergency Management, 911 emergency services are “extremely busy” responding to “hundreds of fire and water rescue calls in hard-hit areas.” According to the agency, many areas are still flooded.

(5:00 a.m. ET) Flood Emergency in North Carolina

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared an official state of emergency, activating the National Guard and rapid water rescue teams.

(4:30 a.m. ET) 2.2 million plus without power

According to PowerOutages.us, approximately 1.2 million homes and businesses are without power in Florida alone. Georgia and South Carolina are responsible for another 650,000 and 240,000 outages, respectively. Prior to Helene, authorities had warned of extended power outages that could last up to a week in some of the hardest-hit locations.

(4:00 ET) Deaths confirmed in Florida and Georgia

Authorities have confirmed one storm-related death in Tampa, Florida, in which a falling sign struck a car. Two additional deaths occurred in Wheeler County, Georgia, when a mobile home was swept away by the storm.