Hurricane Helene, downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane, continues to bring life-threatening winds and flooding across the Southeast, including parts of Texas. With 3.5 million people without power and multiple fatalities reported emergency services are responding to widespread damage and rising waters.
Hurricane Helene, which briefly became a Category 4 hurricane, is continuing to unleash hazardous conditions as it moves northward across Georgia and areas of the Southeast, including Texas. As of eight o'clock in the morning Eastern Time, the National Hurricane Center reported sustained winds of sixty miles per hour. The storm is now located thirty-five miles south-southwest of Clemson, Georgia.
At 11:10 p.m. on Thursday night, Hurricane Helene landed in the Big Bend region of Florida. Since then, she has left a trail of destruction throughout various states, including western Texas, where strong storms and gusting winds have knocked out electricity in certain regions. Emergency personnel are rescuing people trapped by rising floodwaters in Florida.
According to the National Hurricane Center's ongoing warnings, residents of the Gulf Coast, especially those in sections of southeastern Texas, are in considerable danger of experiencing storm surges that could reach up to ten feet along the west coast of Florida, from Indian Pass to Tampa Bay.
Several people have already lost their lives as a result of the storm. A driver was killed in Tampa when a sign collapsed into their vehicle, and two individuals were murdered in Wheeler County, Georgia, when a tornado flipped a mobile home over. Both of these incidents occurred in the same county. A firefighter was killed when he was struck by a falling tree in Pierce County, Georgia. He was a member of the fire department.
As of this morning, roughly 3.5 million people in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and certain areas of Texas are without electricity. Utility providers are warning that power outages could continue for several weeks in certain regions.
Although Helene has become less powerful, the storm continues to offer significant dangers, such as flash flooding and tornadoes, as it travels near the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic region. Emergency personnel are exerting extreme effort to restore power and guarantee the safety of the general public.
