The Georgia governor says at least 11 people in his state have been killed and dozens are still trapped in homes damaged by Hurricane Helene.
Gov. Brian Kemp made the statement Friday at a news conference. He said authorities believe there are 115 structures with people trapped inside.
The storm made landfall late Thursday in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend area, which is home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways. It’s where the Panhandle and peninsula meet.
The storm made landfall late Thursday in a sparsely populated region with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) in the rural Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways where Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula meet. But the damage extended hundreds of miles to the north, with flooding as far away as North Carolina, where a lake used in scenes from the movie “Dirty Dancing” overtopped a dam. Multiple hospitals in southern Georgia were without power.
“Thank God we’re both alive to tell about it,” Rhonda Bell said after a towering oak tree outside her home in Valdosta, Georgia, smashed through the roof.
Video on social media sites showed sheets of rain coming down and siding coming off buildings in Perry, Florida, near where the storm arrived. One local news station showed a home that was overturned, and many communities established curfews.
#Hurricane #Helene damage in #Florida pic.twitter.com/0rDVyinulU
— Big Time Scripts (@T_Bradfield) September 27, 2024
“It’s really heartbreaking,” said Stephen Tucker, after the hurricane peeled off the brand-new roof at her church in Perry, Florida. It had to be replaced after last year’s Hurricane Idalia, and the congregation was just weeks away from moving back into the newly renovated sanctuary.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the damage from Helene in the area appears to be greater than the combined damage of Idalia and Debby last August. “It’s demoralizing,” he said.
President Joe Biden said he was praying for survivors as the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency headed to the area. The agency has deployed more than 1,500 workers, and they helped with 400 rescues by late morning.
County officials immediately launched boats to reach stranded people, warning that the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.
