At least 17 people were killed and millions of Americans were cut off from electricity, after Hurricane Helen, which continues to cause massive floods in the southeastern United States, passed today, Friday, while continuing its path as a tropical storm.
“This storm was deadly, with 11 people confirmed dead,” Georgia state governor Brian Kemp said.
The Sheriff’s Office in Pinas County on the west coast of Florida confirmed, “We recorded five deaths related to the hurricane.”
In the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, a person died when a tree fell on his home, according to city firefighters.
From Tallahassee, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina, strong winds and heavy rain caused flash floods and downed trees. On the coast of Florida, the rise in sea levels caused major floods, especially since it reached 4.5 meters in some places.
“We conducted about 600 rescue operations,” Dean Criswell, head of the federal agency responsible for responding to natural disasters, told CNN.
She added that “the threat has not ended yet,” noting that the situation “is still dangerous.” She also pointed out the dangers of flash floods, especially in the major city of Atlanta in the state of Georgia.
“This rainfall will likely produce catastrophic and life-threatening flooding in urban areas, along with significant and unprecedented river flooding,” the National Hurricane Center said.
“Several large landslides are expected on the steep slopes across the southern Appalachian Mountains,” he added.
– Huge losses
Hurricane Helen made landfall in northwest Florida on Thursday evening, reaching Category 4 on a scale of five degrees, with winds blowing at speeds of 225 kilometers per hour. It was the strongest hurricane ever to hit this region, according to expert Michael Lowry.
“It was really scary at one point,” said Larry Bailey Jr. in Perry, Florida. “I was wondering, ‘Is the air going to move my house?’
Authorities in Tyler County, Florida, asked residents who did not leave their homes to write their names on their bodies using indelible ink to help identify them if they were killed.
According to the specialized “Power Outage” website, at 17:00 GMT there were about 1.3 million customers without electricity in South Carolina, one million in Georgia, 900,000 in Florida, and the same number in North Carolina.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis mobilized the National Guard and ordered thousands of individuals to prepare for search and rescue operations, and also urged residents to take precautions.
Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of hurricanes that draw on the energy of warmer oceans.
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