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The hurricane made landfall just after 11:00 p.m. Thursday local time (03:00 GMT Friday) near the town of Perry in northwest Florida.
Hurricane Helene left at least 33 people dead and caused widespread flooding across the southeastern United States on Friday, depriving millions of customers of power.
According to an early report by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis , one person died after a tree fell on a home in Dixie County, the region where Helene made landfall last night as a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, out of a total of 5.
At least 14 people have died in South Carolina, 11 in Georgia, seven in Florida and one in North Carolina, according to the latest tally from local authorities.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp reported 11 deaths in his state, including a first responder, and warned that the city of Valdosta had identified 115 badly damaged structures with several people trapped inside.
Authorities in Pinellas County, Florida, have confirmed five storm-related deaths.
Another death was confirmed in North Carolina when a tree fell on a house, the fire department said.
The hurricane made landfall just after 11:00 p.m. Thursday local time (03:00 GMT Friday) near the town of Perry in the northwest Florida region known as Big Bend, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour (140 miles).
This area woke up today with streets covered in fallen trees and poles, as well as areas flooded by the rising tide (at least 3 meters above its usual level) brought by Helene, which according to meteorologists is the strongest hurricane to hit the Big Bend.
Videos and photos show huge waves hitting bridges and homes in coastal areas that were almost submerged in water during the passage of the cyclone.
In the Cedar Key area, near where Helene made landfall and where sea levels rose by 2.7 meters (9 feet) overnight, EFE was able to confirm that patrols began removing trees from main roads early in the morning to maintain the flow of rescuers.
More than 700 flights have been cancelled in the US so far this Friday, the vast majority of them with scheduled departures or arrivals at the international airports of Charlotte (North Carolina), Atlanta (Georgia) and Tampa (Florida).
Flash flooding threat in Atlanta
Although Florida’s capital Tallahassee was spared the feared direct hit because the system moved further east, other capitals, such as Atlanta, Georgia, remain under emergency due to flash flooding in their metropolitan area, the NHC said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said at least 20 people were rescued overnight after being trapped in floodwaters inside homes or cars.
Governor Brian Kemp said Tuesday that several hospitals in the southern part of the state have lost power and that rescue teams are heading east, where several residents are trapped in their homes.
In anticipation of Helene’s path between Thursday and Friday, US President Joe Biden signed a disaster declaration for the states of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Alabama.
Meteorologists warn that the threat posed by Helene will continue throughout the day, while arduous rescue efforts and the search for victims are underway, some of them elderly people who did not want to evacuate.
In the Asheville, North Carolina area, where a mandatory evacuation order is in effect, rivers are expected to rise to historic levels and landslides are possible in the mountainous areas of western North Carolina.
In its latest bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Helene is still producing “damaging wind gusts and potentially life-threatening flooding across portions of the Southeast and southern Appalachians.”
The tropical storm was located on Friday about 50 kilometers (35 miles) southwest of Bryson City (North Carolina) and about 165 kilometers (105 miles) north-northeast of Atlanta (Georgia), according to the bulletin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern U.S. time (3:00 p.m. GMT).
As the system continues to move over land, it continues to weaken and now has maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (45 miles), and is moving rapidly north at 52 kilometers per hour (32 miles).
