Hurricane Helene was a dangerous Category 4 storm when it made landfall over Florida’s Big Bend area late Thursday night but was rapidly weakening as it raced inland early Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Helene was bringing a “life-threatening” storm surge, strong winds, and heavy rain, the centre said.
Some 1.3 million customers in Florida were without power as of early Friday morning, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, along with approximately 583,000 in Georgia. That number was growing rapidly. What’s more, 143,000 homes and businesses were in the dark in South Carolina and 43,000 in North Carolina.
So far, there have been at least three weather-related deaths attributed to Helene.
Two people were killed in Wheeler County, Georgia, the county coroner, Ted Mercer, told CBS New by phone. No further details were provided. [CBS]
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
