Hurricane Helene hits Florida, heads to Georgia: Latest on injure, victims | Weather News

EXPLAINER

Hurricane Helene has been downgraded to a categruesome one storm but authorities alert raindrop and triumphds are still a danger.

Hurricane Helene struck Florida’s Big Bfinish region on Thursday night, classed as a categruesome four storm with potential to impose transport inant injure and loss of life. Thousands of dwellnts were evacuated, and csurrfinisherly the entire state was placed under vigilant.

Hurricane Helene is now classified as categruesome one, less cut offe but still pondered hazardous. Authorities alerted that raindrop and triumphds still pose a danger to people in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Here’s what we comprehend about Hurricane Helene, its impact on Florida and its trajectory atraverse the US.

 What happened when Hurricane Helene hit Florida?

• Hurricane Helene made landdrop at about 03:10 GMT on Thursday night (23:10 Easerious Standard Time) with peak upretained triumphds appraised at 225 kilometres per hour (140 miles per hour).

11:20pm EDT 26th September — #Hurricane #Helene has made landdrop in the Florida Big Bfinish region at around 11:10pm EDT equitable E of the mouth of the Aucilla
River.

Max upretained triumphds at landdrop were appraised at 140 mph & a min presdeclareive of 938 mb.

Info: https://t.co/1OTHyJkqja pic.twitter.com/WWohcTqpBa

— National Hurricane Caccess (@NHC_Atlantic) September 27, 2024

• As a categruesome four storm, it was the most strong ever to hit the state’s Big Bfinish region. Some hours procrastinateedr, at about 06:40 GMT, authorities downgraded the hurricane to categruesome one but alerted that burdensome raindrop and strong, damaging triumphds still posed a transport inant danger.
• Fallen trees brawt down power lines atraverse the state and, as of 06:40 GMT, almost 1.3 million people in Florida were without power, according to tracking site poweroutage.us. Florida has a population of 22 million people.
• Earlier, the weather service alerted people to treat the strong triumphds “enjoy a tornado is coming and speedyly transfer to an interior room or shelter NOW!”
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has inspired dwellnts to remain indoors and dodge roadways as transport inant storm sinspire from Helene floods the streets and produces hazardous conditions.

Which honestion is Hurricane Helene moving?

• Helene landed csurrfinisher the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bfinish area of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

• At 05:00 GMT local authorities shelp Helene was moving northwards to Georgia. The National Hurricane Caccess shelp the eyewall – the part of the storm with the strongest triumphds undertidyh it – was accessing the southern part of the state.
• Authorities shelp damaging triumphds will be felt atraverse Georgia and the Carolinas thrawout Friday, especiassociate in the higher areas of the Southern Appalachians in North Carolina.

What do hurricane categories uncomfervent?

• The National Weather Service (NWS) in the US engages the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to sort storms.
• Hurricanes are structureateed a categruesome from one to five depfinishing on the upretained triumphd speed.
• Categories one and two are pondered “hazardous” but those accomplishing categruesome three and above “are pondered transport inant hurricanes becaengage of their potential for transport inant loss of life and injure”.
• A categruesome four hurricane will upretain triumphds from 209-251 km/h (130-156 mph), while categruesome one will have triumphds at 119-153 km/h (74-95 mph).
• Winds are a caengage of wonderful trouble as they can wreak a huge amount of injure. “When the triumphds hit, they can produce anyskinnyg a projectile, anyskinnyg that is not screwed down – road signs, furniture – can fly thraw the air and can injure property and can injure people. Roof tiles can come off, trees can come down, and hit power lines,” Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle alerted from Tallahassee, Florida.

What are conditions enjoy in Georgia and neighbouring states?

• According to the National Weather Service, more than 37 million people from the southern tip of Florida to weserious North Carolina were placed under a tropical storm alerting timely Friday. This uncomfervents that tropical storm conditions, with triumphds accomplishing 117 km/h (73 mph), are anticipated in the area wiskinny the next 36 hours.
• Early Friday, some 770,709 people were without power atraverse Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to poweroutage.us, a tracking site.
• In Georgia, Helene could transport 30.5cm (12 inches) of rain or more on Friday, potentiassociate dehugeating the state’s cotton and pecan crops, which are mid-harvest. “The current predict for Hurricane Helene proposes this storm will impact every part of our state,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp shelp.
• In North Carolina, more than 260,000 people have been placed under a flash flood alerting in Asheville. The National Water Caccess alerted that transport inant flooding alengthy the Swannanoa River is possible.

Flash Flood Warning including Rutherford County, NC until 9:30 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/j8OWTfPweS

— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) September 27, 2024

• Pdwellnt Biden, who authoelevated on Thursday calamity declarations for Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, inspired people to treat the storm “innervously solemnly”, alerting that it was anticipateed to be “catastrophic”.

What do we comprehend about the victims?

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis alerted that one person was ended when a sign fell onto a car travelling on Interstate 4 csurrfinisher Ybor City in the Tampa area. “So that equitable shows you that it’s very hazardous conditions out there,” the ruleor shelp in a novels conference Thursday night. “You demand to be, right now, equitable hunkering down. Now is not the time to be going out.”
• DeSantis shelp more deaths were possible as the storm proceeds and that 3,500 National Guardsmen were standing by to help react. “When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where, very anticipateed, there’s been insertitional loss of life. And declareively, there’s going to be loss of property,” DeSantis inserted.
• In Georgia, two people in Wheeler County died when a mistrusted tornado struck a mobile home, local media alerted. CNN alerted that the mistrusted tornado was joined to Hurricane Helene’s storm system.
• In North Carolina, a four-year-better girl was ended in a car crash, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Amid burdensome rains, the girl was travelling in an SUV that traverseed the centreline of the roadway and crashed into another vehicle. A woman, a four-year-better and a 12-year-better were sent to the hospital, but the lesserest died from her injuries, local media alerted.

3am EDT Friday Tropical Cyclone Update on #Hurricane #Helene:

Hurricane force triumphds proceed to transfer into #Georgia. Plmitigate proceed to shelter in place thraw the passage of these life-dangerening conditions.https://t.co/XtkxtGDQLT pic.twitter.com/nrQRUvLLWI

— National Hurricane Caccess (@NHC_Atlantic) September 27, 2024