Category 4 Hurricane Helene Hits Northwestern Florida, Bringing Deadly Winds and Power Outages

Hurricane Helene struck northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm, prompting forecasters to caution about the potential for a devastating storm surge and severe winds and rain throughout the southeastern U.S.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami reported that Hurricane Helene made landfall at approximately 11:10 p.m. on Thursday, striking near the mouth of the Aucilla River in Florida’s Big Bend region along the Gulf Coast.

Helene brought powerful sustained winds estimated at 140 mph (225 kph). This landfall occurred just about 20 miles (32 kilometres) northwest of the spot where Hurricane Idalia hit last year with almost identical strength, resulting in extensive damage.

A falling sign in Florida claimed one life, while the state grapples with widespread power outages affecting over 1.3 million homes and businesses, according to the BBC. This disruption impacts a significant portion of Florida’s 22 million residents. Additionally, power outages have affected 460,000 customers in Georgia, 67,000 in South Carolina, and 20,000 in North Carolina.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday night, “When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where very likely there’s been additional loss of life and certainly there’s going to be loss of property.”

Helene, after making landfall, was swiftly advancing inland, with its centre expected to traverse from southern to northern Georgia by early Friday morning. Forecasters warned that the risk of tornadoes would persist overnight and into the morning across northern and central Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and southern North Carolina. Additionally, by later Friday, Virginia would also face the threat of tornadoes.

Governor DeSantis announced that approximately 3,500 National Guardsmen are on standby to address any emergencies. The storm has led to the closure of multiple airports and the cancellation of nearly 1,300 flights on Thursday, according to FlightAware. By 3 a.m., almost 600 U.S. flights had already been cancelled. 

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