Hurricane 'Helene' weakened to tropical storm after landfall but "still extremely dangerous"
The storm is losing intensity as it moves deeper into Georgia, but authorities warn that winds and rain could still cause extensive damage. At least three people have lost their lives.
A fire truck in Florida under torrential rains caused by Helene.
Helene lost intensity throughout Friday, hours after making landfall in Florida, progressively dropping from category 4 to Tropical Storm, according to the U.S. hurricane center (NHC), as it moves into the state of Georgia. Three deaths have been reported so far as a result of the storm.
"Helene Weakens to a Tropical Storm as it Moves Farther Inland Over Georgia. Life-Threatening Storm Surge, Winds, and Heavy Rains Continue." the NHC noted in the last update on the storm.
"Extremely dangerous"
At landfall, the cyclone was a category 4 out of 5 and was rated "extremely dangerous" by the U.S. weather services. The storm reached the so-called Big Bend, a forested region in the northwestern part of the state, shortly before 11h30 local time, the NHC said.
At landfall, the wind reached 140 mph near the town of Perry, population about 7,000. "THE ENTIRE Big Bend coast of Florida is at risk of potentially catastrophic storm surge," the NHC warned on social media.
In the first moments after Helene passed through, nearly a million homes and businesses were left without power, the PowerOutage.us, which specializes in reporting power outages. At the time of writing, the number affected was already 1,297,061 in Florida and 564,744 in Georgia. In addition, at least 133,675 users in South Carolina are also without power.
The NHC warned of up to 51 centimeters of rain at isolated inland spots and potentially deadly flooding, as well as "numerous" landslides, in southern Appalachia.
Several states are in the potential path and are already experiencing high winds and heavy rains. Flooding in cities around Tampa Bay left roads impassable, local media showed. The risk of tornadoes was increasing in northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Most of Georgia, which like Florida is under a state of emergency, was placed on flood watch, while Tennessee braced for tropical storm conditions statewide.
"An event that will affect multiple states and could have a significant impact."
"This will be an event that will affect multiple states and that ," Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters at the White House after briefing President Joe Biden on the situation. "The president wants to make sure that everyone pays attention to the potential life-threatening impacts of this storm," she said.
DeSantis mobilized the National Guard and thousands of people for possible search-and-rescue and power restoration operations.
"We can't control the path of the hurricane, but what you can control is what you can do to have the best chance of coming out of this in a way that's safe," the governor said.
A 402-km stretch of coast, from Tampa Bay to Panama City, is on hurricane watch.
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