At Least 40 Dead and Millions Without Power After Hurricane Helene Made Landfall: What We Know So Far

Mar. 15, 2025

At least 40 people have been killed across multiple states and millions of people are without power after Hurricane Helenemade landfallover Florida’s Big Bend on Thursday, Sept. 26.

The majority of the victims were in Georgia and South Carolina, according to theTimes.

Helene was a Category 4 storm when it made landfall around 11:10 p.m. local time near Perry, Fla., and has since been steadily downgraded, now to a post-tropical cyclone, according to theNational Hurricane Center.

In just a matter of hours, Helene delivered damaging wind gusts as well as “catastrophic, life-threatening, [and] record-breaking” flooding in many areas, especially the higher terrains of the southeastern Appalachians, where “numerous significant landslides” are also expected through Friday, Sept. 27.

As of Friday evening more than 3 million people were without power in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia and beyond, according toPowerOutage.us.

The streets are flooded near Peachtree Creek after hurricane Helene brought in heavy rains over night on September 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday night as a category 4 hurricane in the pan handle of Florida and is working its way north, it is now considered a tropical storm.Megan Varner/Getty

Megan Varner/Getty

The death include 11 in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said during anews conferenceon Friday morning.

In Blackshear, officials said part-time assistant fire chief Vernon “Leon” Davis died after a tree fell on his vehicle Friday morning, according toFirst Coast News.

Deaths were also reported in Laurel, Liberty and Laurens counties, WJCL reported.

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A capsized boat washes ashore as Hurricane Helene churns offshore on September 26, 2024 in St. Peteersburg Florida. Already a Category 3 storm, Helene was expected to gain further strength before making landfall this evening on Florida’s northwestern coast. Flash flood warnings extend to northern Georgia and western North Carolina.Joe Raedle/Getty

Joe Raedle/Getty

Meanwhile, there have been seven confirmed deaths in Florida, according to theTimes.

One person died after a sign fell on top of a car traveling on Interstate 4 in Tampa, and another person died in Dixie County after a tree fell onto their home,CBS affiliate WINKreported. Five people also died in Pinnellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced during a news conference on Friday, per theTimes.

Sean Rayford/Getty

President Joe Biden declared astate of emergencyfor Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 24, and ordered “Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Helene beginning on September 23, 2024, and continuing.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisannounced in a post on Xthat Florida had almost 18,000 linemen staged along with available search and rescue and roadway clearing crews.

source: people.com