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    • Storms pose a threat hours after landing
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    Storms pose a threat hours after landing

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    Helene weakened to a tropical storm as it swept through Georgia early Friday, though it still produced life-threatening storm surges, gusty winds and flooding rain hours after a devastating landfall on Florida’s Big Bend coast.

    Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, around 11:10 PM ET with winds of 140 mph (230 km per hour), making it the first known Category 4 storm to hit the Big Bend region of Florida since records began in 1851.

    For hours, the storm maintained hurricane strength as it moved inland through northern Florida and into Georgia. At 5 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said Helene was a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph. It was located 40 miles east of Macon, Georgia, and 100 miles southeast of Atlanta and was racing north at 30 miles per hour.

    More: Hurricane Helene tracker: Map the storm’s predicted path through Georgia

    The National Weather Service in Tallahassee said further weakening is expected as the storm moves inland.

    So far, at least one fatality in Florida has been attributed to the hurricane, authorities said. In central Georgia, local news media reported that two people were killed Thursday after a mobile home was toppled by a suspected tornado.

    Officials feared more fatalities would be discovered on Friday, although it would likely be several hours before rescue personnel could leave to help those in need.

    Developments:

    ∎ All hurricane and tropical storm warnings have been suspended along the east coast of Florida, south of the Flagler-Volusia county line, and along the west coast of Florida, south of the mouth of the Suwannee River, according to the National Hurricane Center.

    ∎ Helene is the 14th most powerful hurricane to hit anywhere in the U.S. since records have been kept, and the seventh most powerful hurricane to hit Florida, according to data from the National Hurricane Center.

    ∎ After midnight, the sheriff’s office in Pasco County, just north of Tampa, reported that at least 40 people had been rescued from rising water levels with the help of local fire departments.

    In Mitchell and Avery counties in western North Carolina, officials declared a state of emergency, warning residents of “catastrophic flooding.”

    Officials reported major flooding in both provinces, with rainfall of more than 8 to 10 inches closing roads, flooding bridges and inundating homes and businesses. Water rescues were underway across the region, according to the weather service.

    “This is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. FIND HIGH GROUND NOW! Life-threatening flash flooding of low tide intersections, small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses,” the weather service in nearby South Carolina said.

    More than 2.5 million homes and businesses in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina were left in the dark early Friday as Helene lashed the region with strong winds and heavy rain.

    The most outages were reported in Florida, especially along the coast of Big Bend, where the storm made landfall Thursday evening before barreling into Georgia. More than 1.2 million utility customers were without power as of 5:30 a.m., according to a USA TODAY power outage tracker.

    In Georgia, 820,000 outages were reported, while South Carolina had 420,000 and North Carolina had more than 100,000 outages.

    As northwest Florida lashed Helene with winds of more than 100 miles per hour and floodwaters several feet high, Philip Tooke managed to send a short but frantic message from his phone while riding out the storm — not in his house, but on his boat.

    “Lost power,” he wrote from St. Mark’s, 30 miles south of Tallahassee and 20 miles from where Hurricane Helene struck the mouth of the Aucilla River. But he adds, “It’s still floating.”

    Tooke, the 63-year-old owner of a local fish market, and his brother stayed aboard their fishing boats while Helene scoured the area. The pair are among the Floridians who took to the water to survive. They did this despite evacuation orders issued in advance of the Category 4 hurricane and despite dire warnings predicting death for those who remained.

    Read the full story here: Floridians survive Hurricane Helene

    – Michael Loria, Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY

    It is still too early for detailed damage reports from the provinces Helene passed through. But the National Hurricane Center says Category 4 storms threaten well-built homes with “severe” damage, possibly including the loss of both roofs and walls. Most trees are blown down or uprooted and electricity poles are taken down.

    “The power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months,” the hurricane center said of Category 4 storms.

    The governors of Georgia and the Carolinas have declared states of emergency as the fast-moving storm rages along the Florida coast.

    “We will likely avoid the worst impacts of this storm, but it is still expected to bring flooding, high winds and isolated tornadoes,” South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said. “Take proper precautions and monitor local forecasts.”

    – Doyle Rice

    FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will visit Florida on Friday to assess the storm’s impact and report to Biden.

    Criswell said she would fly as close as possible to Tallahassee and meet with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his team. The FEMA leader said she would like to take an aerial tour if possible so she can see the damage for herself. After that, she is ready to move to Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, where she is also expected to be hit hard by Helene.

    “Being on the ground allows me to validate some of the damage more quickly so we can make big statements more quickly,” she told reporters at a White House briefing on Thursday, adding that the agency has the resources it needs needs to respond to this disaster. .

    Criswell said FEMA aggressively deployed resources ahead of Helene’s arrival and advised those likely to be affected to do the same, both in Florida and inland locations far from the storm’s landfall. Parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and the Appalachians could receive up to 20 inches of rain and experience widespread flooding.

    “Take the storm seriously,” Criswell said. “People in Hurricane Helene’s path, you need to listen to your local officials. If they tell you to evacuate, please do so, and if they tell you to shelter in place, then that is what you should do. They will give you the best information you can do for your specific situation. Such decisions can save lives.”

    − Francesca Chambers

    Contributing: Tallahassee Democrat; Reuters

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