(Reuters) – Helene, one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the United States, crossed Georgia on Friday after making landfall in Florida on Thursday evening, killing at least four people and causing widespread damage and floods in its wake.
The Category 4 hurricane hit Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday, felling trees, overturning boats, stranding cars and flooding streets.
Even before making landfall, Helene caused power outages for more than a million customers and severe flooding in several areas.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the only fatality so far in the state linked to Helene was a driver whose car was struck by debris. “When we wake up tomorrow morning, there will probably be more deaths,” he added.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced on X the deaths of two people in Wheeler County, while a local television affiliate of the ABC News network reported the death of a firefighter killed by a falling fire. a tree on his vehicle in Blackshear, Georgia.
Authorities fear the toll from the hurricane will rise, with Florida having been swept by winds of 225 kilometers per hour. The gusts then weakened to 75 km/h as the hurricane moved towards northern Georgia.
Authorities called on residents in areas in the hurricane’s path to evacuate in anticipation of high winds and a potentially deadly storm surge.
THREATENED CROPS
Faced with the risk of flooding, warnings were issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for several counties in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina on Friday
“This is a particularly dangerous situation. SEEK HIGHER TERRAIN NOW,” the NWS said.
Helene is the 14th most powerful hurricane on record to hit the United States, and the 7th most powerful to hit Florida, according to data from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The city of Tampa reported on social network The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office rescued more than 65 people overnight.
Authorities have warned the impact could be as severe as Hurricane Idalia, which flooded 1,500 homes in the county last year.
Helene is expected to remain a full-fledged hurricane as it passes through the Macon, Georgia, area and could dump 12 inches of rain or more, forecasters say, posing a threat to cotton and pecan fields of the state, which are in the middle of the harvest season.
(Reporting Rich McKay in Atlanta; Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; Swati Verma in Bangalore; written by Joseph Ax and Brad Brooks; French version Camille Raynaud and Noémie Naudin; edited by Augustin Turpin)
