CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. — Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday night in northwestern Perry Florida, slamming into the Big Bend area as a powerful Category 4 storm. The National Hurricane Center reported that Helene came ashore around 11:10 p.m. EDT near the Aucilla River, packing sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph). The storm is expected to trigger a “nightmare” storm surge, along with dangerous winds and heavy rain across the southeastern U.S.
Ahead of the storm, authorities issued widespread hurricane and flash flood warnings extending from the Gulf Coast into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Power outages affected nearly 900,000 homes and businesses across Florida before Helene even made landfall, according to poweroutage.us. Governors in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, and Virginia declared states of emergency in anticipation of the storm’s impact.
Tragically, the storm has already claimed lives. In Florida, a falling sign killed one person, while in south Georgia, a possible tornado caused two additional fatalities.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that by Friday morning, residents would likely be facing further loss of life and widespread property damage, particularly in the hardest-hit areas. “We’re going to be waking up to a state where very likely there’s been additional loss of life and certainly there’s going to be loss of property,” DeSantis said during a press conference Thursday night.
As Helene approached, the National Weather Service in Tallahassee issued an “extreme wind warning” for the Big Bend region, advising residents to take shelter immediately. “Treat this warning like a tornado warning,” the service urged, adding that people should “hunker down” in the most secure room available.
Helene’s landfall comes just one year after Hurricane Idalia ravaged the same region. Idalia had reached Category 4 strength in the Gulf but made landfall as a Category 3 near Keaton Beach. The area, still recovering from that storm, now faces further devastation.
In addition to the intense winds, tropical storm-force gusts and flooding rains are impacting communities along Florida’s west coast. Rising waters in Siesta Key near Sarasota submerged roadways, while debris from a recent fire in Cedar Key washed ashore amid the storm surge.
The storm’s influence extends far beyond Perry Florida. In the mountains of North Carolina, up to 10 inches of rain have already fallen, with as much as 14 inches more expected, raising concerns of severe flooding. Forecasters warn that the flooding could be the worst the region has seen in a century.
Georgia is also bracing for the storm’s full impact, with hurricane-force winds and rain pummeling the southern part of the state. Wheeler County, southeast of Macon, was hit by a possible tornado that killed two people and caused extensive damage. More than a dozen tornado warnings have been issued across Georgia as severe thunderstorms batter the region.
Helene made landfall in the sparsely populated Big Bend area of Florida, a region known for its fishing villages and secluded vacation spots where the Panhandle meets the peninsula. The storm’s path of destruction is expected to stretch across multiple states as it moves inland.