Hurricane Helene leaves 25 dead, downgraded to tropical storm as it ravages southeast US

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - Hurricane Helene has left at least 25 people dead in its wake as it has been downgraded to a tropical storm and continues to ravage the Southeastern US on Friday with its powerful winds and torrential rains.

The storm made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region along the Gulf Coast late Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane and unleashed its wrath with 140 mile per hour (225 kilometer per hour) sustained winds that destroyed buildings and knocked down power lines.

Storm surges of at least 15 feet (4.6 meters) flooded homes and washed away everything in Helene's path.

The storm whipped through Florida and continued its way up the Atlantic Coast through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia as a tropical storm with 45 mph (72 kmh) sustained winds that downed trees and power lines. Continued heavy rains caused flash flooding with emergency crews conducting rescue efforts for residents stranded on top of their homes from the rapidly rising floodwaters.

Nearly 4.8 million people are without electricity from Florida and Georgia to as far north as Ohio and Indiana, according to PowerOutage.us, and officials expect some areas to be without electricity for several weeks as crews work on restoring the power grid.

President Joe Biden approved emergency declaration requests from the governors of states affected by Helene. He also ordered more than 1,500 federal medical and rescue personnel to be dispatched to help in the aftermath of the storm.

Flash flood warnings remain in effect with up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain expected in some areas, and the threat of landslides is also a danger in some of the Appalachian mountainous regions.

"Helene Still Producing Historic and Catastrophic Flooding Over Portions of the Southeast and Southern Appalachians," the National Hurricane Center posted on X.

This is the fourth hurricane to make landfall on the Gulf Coast this year in what is expected to be a more active than normal Atlantic hurricane season. There are still two months remaining in the hurricane season which officially ends on Nov. 30.