Hurricane Helene roared through Florida and Georgia under darkness on Friday as one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S., killing at least 43 people, swamping neighborhoods and leaving more than 3 million homes and businesses without power.
Helene, with 140 mph (225 kph) winds when it came ashore, weakened to a Cat 1 as it moved into Georgia in the early hours of Friday morning. The still-powerful storm was packing sustained maximum winds of 70 mph (113 kph) as of 5 a.m. and was forecast to continue shuffling northward toward the Tennessee Valley.
Destruction Across the Panhandle and Southeast
The Category 4 storm hit Florida’s Big Bend region at 11:10 p.m. ET, leaving a chaotic landscape of overturned boats in harbors, felled trees, stranded cars and flooded streets.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed the death of a driver whose car was struck by debris and warned the death toll was likely to rise. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said on X that two people in Wheeler County had died after a tornado touched down during the storm, and an ABC News affiliate reported that a firefighter was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle in Blackshear, Georgia.
More than four million homes and businesses in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and other U.S. Southeast states were without power, according to the tracking website Poweroutage.us. Police and firefighters carried out hundreds of water rescues throughout the states, including as far north as Atlanta, where an apartment complex had to be evacuated due to flooding.
Life-threatening storm surges, winds and heavy rains continued, the National Hurricane Center said. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for several counties in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina on Friday morning.
Storm surge from Helene, which the authorities had warned could be “unsurvivable,” was moving entire mobile homes in Steinhatchee, a coastal community where gauges recorded water levels of about 10 feet late Thursday, the National Weather Service said. One resident of Cedar Key—a picturesque island jutting into the Gulf of Florida’s Big Bend coast—told CNN that he and about 50 residents had decided to ride the storm out.
In addition to airport notifications, anyone with Florida travel plans should check with their hotels for possible status changes. In Orlando, meanwhile, Walt Disney World has resumed normal operations following the passage of Helene; some areas of the park closed on Thursday due to unsafe conditions. On social media and their website, The Plantation Resort on Crystal River, located 80 miles north of Tampa, issued a statement that the property was closed due to damages from Hurricane Helene.
“We are working diligently to assess the situation and make necessary repairs,” said the statement.
Airport Update
- Key West and Florida Keys Marathon international airports are open and operational. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines for possible delays.
- Tampa International Airport restarted operations Friday morning as the region recovered from Helene’s destruction.
- St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport announced plans to reopen Friday morning, with passengers advised to contact individual airlines.
- Orlando International Airport was operational Friday morning, as were airports on Florida’s southeast coast, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.
- Jacksonville International Airport is open, though some flights have been cancelled.
- Tallahassee International Airport had reopened Friday morning, with the first scheduled flight due to depart at 1:15 p.m. today, 9/27/24.
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and South Carolina’s Greenville National Airport were fully operational Friday morning though again, passengers are advised to check with their individual airlines.
- Some flights are cancelled or delayed at Nashville International Airport (BNA) Friday morning as Helene continues to impact Middle Tennessee Friday morning.
