Hurricane Helene has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm has traveled north from Florida to Georgia and was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Augusta and 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Macon moving at about 30 mph (48 kph), the center said in a 4 am update.
According to the US National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida Big Bend region late Thursday as a Category 4 storm.The ‘extremely dangerous’ storm, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, caused widespread flooding and power outages, making it the most powerful storm to hit the region.
The US National Weather Service confirmed that the eye of Helene made landfall near the mouth of the Aucilla River at 11:10 p.m. EDT (0310 UTC), based on Doppler radar data.
Three people were reported dead in southern Georgia, possibly due to a tornado caused by Hurricane Helene. Over 70,000 residents in Franklin, Taylor, Liberty, and Wakulla counties were asked to be evacuated.
The storm knocked out power to more than 885,000 homes and businesses in Florida, with 29,000 more affected in Georgia and North Carolina. Officials warned that damage to the power grid could result in outages lasting days or weeks.
More than 8,85,000 homes and businesses in Florida lost power, with additional outages affecting Georgia and North Carolina.
Helene rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday evening, according to the NHC.
