With all she had, Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s coast late Thursday night, dumping heavy rain, forcing water rescues, claiming lives and triggering millions of power outages.
Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane about 11:10 p.m. ET near Perry, Florida, with 140 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center reported. At least 22 fatalities have been blamed on the hurricane so far, authorities said. Officials feared more fatalities would be discovered on Friday.
The storm, which now marks the first known Category 4 storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since records began in 1851, weakened to a tropical storm Friday morning as it barreled through Georgia, causing life-threatening flooding in Atlanta and the Carolinas. By 11 a.m. ET Friday, Helene was located 30 miles southwest of Bryson City, North Carolina and about 105 miles north-northeast of Atlanta with sustained winds of 45 mph.
As of early Friday more than 4.4 million homes and businesses remained without power, according to the USA TODAY power outage map, and thousands of flights had been canceled or delayed across the country, according to FlightAware.
Photos and social media footage showed boats overcome with water, downed utility poles, and more damage along Florida’s Gulf coast.
‘Devastation’ in Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg
In Tampa Bay, one resident described seeing vanished beaches, boats crashed into homes, and businesses on fire.
“Complete devastation and loss here,” Vikki Hudson, who lives in Largo, about three miles from the coast told USA TODAY Friday. “The beaches are gone. Everything is underwater. Boats piled on top of houses and yards.”
Hudson said she saw Gulf Boulevard, which runs the St. Petersburg coastline north to Clearwater, “completely underwater.”
Hudson, who lives about 20 minutes from her two businesses at Treasure Island Beach − The Island Girl Tiki Bar and The Island Girl Beach Rentals − said she has not been able to check on her business as bridges are closed due to widespread flooding.
“We don’t know anything yet, we can not get to any of the barrier islands,” Hudson said.
