Hurricane Helene hit Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday night, a category four hurricane with the potential to cause catastrophic damage and loss of life.
Thousands of citizens were evacuated, and almost the entire state was put on alert. Hurricane Helene is now categorized as a tropical storm, which is less severe but still deemed hazardous.
Authorities have warned that rainfall and winds continue to endanger residents in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Here’s everything we know about Hurricane Helene, its impact in Florida, and its path throughout the United States.
As a category four hurricane, it was the most powerful to ever strike the state’s Big Bend region. A few hours later, at 09:00 GMT, authorities downgraded the hurricane to a tropical storm, but cautioned that torrential rains and strong, damaging winds remained a considerable concern.
Fallen trees downed power lines across the state, and as of 06:40 GMT, about 1.3 million Floridians were without power, according to tracking site poweroutage.us. Florida has a population of 22 million.
Earlier, the weather agency cautioned residents to treat the severe winds “like a tornado is coming and quickly move to an interior room or shelter NOW!” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has warned folks to stay home and avoid the roads as the storm surge from Helene floods the streets and creates unsafe circumstances.