At least 40 dead after 'nightmare' Hurricane Helene leaves dozens still trapped in buildings

ITV News' Chloe Keedy has the latest as warnings of catastrophic winds and floods for millions have been issued following Hurricane Helene

At least 40 people have died after Hurricane Helene swept through the south east of the United States, bringing dangerous 140mph winds and rain.

The storm traveled north from Florida to Georgia, where dozens of people remain trapped in damaged buildings, the state's Governor Brian Kemp said.

First responders were out in boats early on Friday to rescue people trapped by floodwaters.

Flooding impacted places as far as north east Tennessee, where dozens of people were moved onto the roof of a hospital to be rescued.

Originally considered a Category 4 storm on Thursday, the hurricane is said to have weakened to a Category 1 on Friday with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Centre. It is expected to continue to weaken further.

One person was killed in Florida when a sign fell on their car and two people were reported killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached.All five who died in one Florida county were in areas where residents had been told to evacuate, said Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff in Pinellas County in the St. Petersburg area.

Authorities rescued a man and his dog from severe flooding

“We tried to launch boats, we tried to use high-water vehicles and we just met with too many obstacles,” he said.

Florida's Citrus County sheriff’s office warned people to stay out of flood waters, which could may contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.

“If you are trapped and need help please call for rescuers – DO NOT TRY TO TREAD FLOODWATERS YOURSELF,” a Facebook post warned.

In south Georgia, two people were killed when a possible tornado struck a mobile home on Thursday night.

Helene came ashore amid warnings from the National Hurricane Center that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge.

Meanwhile, three million people across the south-western states were in the dark with no electricity. More than 1.2 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, more than 190,000 in Georgia and more than 30,000 in the Carolinas, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.

Flooded streets in Madeira Beach, Florida Credit: AP

The governors of those states and Alabama and Virginia all declared emergencies.

Video on social media sites showed sheets of rain coming down in Perry, Florida, near where Helene made landfall, and siding being torn off buildings. One local news station showed a home that had flipped over.

“Helene continues to produce catastrophic winds that are now pushing into southern Georgia,” the National Hurricane Center said in an update on Friday.

“Persons should not leave their shelters and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions.”

The International Space Station flew over Hurricane Helene on Thursday as it approached the Gulf Coast of Florida packing winds in excess of 120mph.

Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches of rain had fallen in the North Carolina mountains, with up to 14 inches more possible before the deluge ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything seen in the past century.

The storm made landfall in the sparsely-populated Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways where Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula meet.

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“Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified,” the sheriff's office in mostly rural Taylor County warned those who chose not to evacuate in a Facebook post.Federal authorities staged search-and-rescue teams as the weather service forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Apalachee Bay.

People rest inside a hurricane evacuation shelter in Florida ahead of Hurricane Helene making landfall Credit: AP

While Helene has started to weaken as it moves inland, damaging winds and heavy rain were expected to extend to the southern Appalachian Mountains, where landslides were possible, forecasters said. Tennessee was among the states expected to get drenched.

Helene had swamped parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, flooding streets and toppling trees as it passed offshore and brushed the resort city of Cancun.

In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it brushed past the island.

Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina via a container through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene Credit: AP

Areas 100 miles north of the Georgia-Florida line expected hurricane conditions. The state opened its parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. Overnight curfews were imposed in many cities and counties in south Georgia.

“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst strike on a major Southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.

Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures.

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