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Hurricane Helene was the fifth hurricane of the Atlantic season and, according to preliminary reports, was one of the largest to hit the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Helene is weakening and becoming a tropical storm as it moves inland over the state of Georgia, after making landfall in Florida on Thursday night, leaving at least four dead in its wake and displaying its full force with maximum winds of 225 km/h (140 mph).
Of the four reported deaths, one occurred in Florida, as confirmed by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, due to a fallen pole, two more in Alamo (Georgia) and another in North Carolina.
The latest bulletin from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), released at 5 a.m. local time on Friday (09:00 GMT), warns of strong winds, heavy rains and storm surges that are still keeping the country on alert.
The NHC explains that as Helene moves inland, damaging wind gusts will continue, with maximum winds of 110 km/h (70 mph).
According to the poweroutage.us website, there are more than 2 million users without electricity in the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina .
Despite the downgrade to a tropical storm, the NHC is urging all precautions to be taken and is warning of storm surge in coastal areas and torrential rains, meaning conditions remain life-threatening.
Hurricane Helene was the fifth hurricane of the Atlantic season and, according to preliminary reports, was one of the largest to hit the Gulf Coast.
