Hurricane Helene: Deaths reported in Florida, Georgia

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Updated  September 27, 2024 9:57am EDT
FOX 35 Orlando
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Hurricane Helene flooding in Citrus County, Florida

Water rescues are underway in Citrus County, Florida, following Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Helene hit Florida's Big Bend area late Thursday as a catastrophic Category 4 storm, with winds reaching up to 140 mph.

The dangerous storm made landfall about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, at 11:10 p.m. and about 40 miles east-southeast of Tallahassee, the National Hurricane Center said.

Helene lashed the region with hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and flooding rain. The storm eventually weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it moved into Georgia early Friday, and by 5 a.m., it had further weakened to a tropical storm.

RELATED | Hurricane Helene aftermath: Photos, videos show storm damage in Florida after Cat. 4 landfall

Deaths linked to Hurricane Helene

Some deaths have been reported due to Hurricane Helene. 

In Florida, at least one person was killed when a highway sign fell onto a vehicle traveling on Interstate 4 in Tampa on Thursday evening, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A tree fell on a home in Dixie County, resulting in another death, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference on Friday.

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Hurricane Helene: 1 dead after sign falls on car on I-4 in Florida

A deadly crash was reported in the westbound lanes of I-4 as Hurricane Helene continued bringing severe weather to Tampa Thursday evening. Traffic cameras in the area show one of the highway signs on top of a vehicle in that area.

Two people were killed in Wheeler County, Georgia, after a mobile home was damaged during one of several tornado warnings, FOX Weather and multiple outlets reported. 

The hurricane's storm surge was significant enough to trigger water rescues from the Big Bend to Southwest Florida, and mobile homes were even said to be floating in the coastal town of Steinhatchee.  

Flash flooding is now becoming the greatest threat from Helene as it races across the Southeast, with torrential rain lashing parts of Georgia and the western Carolinas. A Flash Flood Emergency was issued early Friday morning for Haywood County in western North Carolina after 6-10 inches of rain had fallen with more on the way.

FOX Weather contributed to this report.

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