CRAWFORDVILLE— Emergency crews rushed Friday to rescue people trapped in their flooded homes after arriving in Florida of Helene as hurricane category 4, generating a huge storm surge and leaving millions of consumers in several states without electricity. At least 45 people have died in four states, according to reports. The deaths occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Hurricane Helene has left more than 3.2 million people in different states without electricity as a result of the heavy rains and winds that hit the southeast of the country.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said dozens of people were still trapped in buildings damaged by Helene. Authorities “are having difficulty reaching certain locations,” so crews, armed with chainsaws, “were working to clear the roads,” Kemp said at a news conference.
The storm made landfall Thursday night with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) in the rural Big Bend area, home to fishing towns and vacation spots, where the Panhandle region and the Pacific meet. Florida peninsula. But damage extended hundreds of miles (kilometres) north, with flooding as far away as North Carolina, where a lake used to film scenes for the movie “Dirty Dancing” overflowed a reservoir. Several hospitals in southern Georgia lost power, and one in Tennessee was closed.
“Thank God we both lived to tell the tale,” Rhonda Bell said after a massive oak tree outside her home in Valdosta, Georgia, fell on her, crashing through the roof.
Videos posted on social media show sheets of rain and siding falling off buildings in Perry, Florida, near where the storm hit. A local news station showed a demolished house, and curfews were put in place in many communities.
Major damage in Florida
“It’s really heartbreaking,” Stephen Tucker said after the hurricane ripped off the new roof of his church in Perry, Florida. It had to be replaced last year after Hurricane Idalia.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantissaid the damage caused by Helene in the area appears to be greater than the combined damage from Idalia and Hurricane Debby in August. “It’s demoralizing,” he said.
President Joe Biden said he was praying for survivors as the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency headed to the area. The agency has deployed more than 1,500 workers, and by late morning, they had collaborated in 400 rescues.
Many of the people stranded in places like Tampa can only be reached by boat, and authorities elsewhere warned that the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.
“If you are trapped and need help, please call rescuers — DO NOT TRY TO GO THROUGH THE FLOODS YOURSELF,” the police station warned in a Facebook post, while raising concerns that the tide could cause another surge that up to 3.05 meters (10 feet).
More than 4 million homes and businesses were without power Friday morning in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
Kemp said at least 11 people from his state had died. At least six more died in South Carolina, two in Florida and two more in North Carolina.