At least nine people have died and millions are without power in the southeastern United States as Helene, a tropical storm as of Friday morning, tore through the region.
At least four people died in Georgia including two in Laurens County in the centre of the state and two others in Wheeler County.
Two people were killed in North Carolina, including a person killed when a tree fell on a house in Charlotte and another in a traffic crash in Catawba County.
Another two people were killed in Florida, where Helene made landfall as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with one also being killed by a falling tree on a home in Dixie County and a second on Interstate 4 near Tampa as a sign fell on a car.
According to the website PowerOutage.us, 1.36 million homes lost power in South Carolina, 1.06 million in Georgia and 1.04 million in Florida on Friday morning. The centre of the storm was located 80 miles from Atlanta mid-morning on Friday.
In Florida, Pasco Sheriff’s Office said on X Friday that its Fire Rescue crews, other law enforcement units and the National Guard rescued about 200 people from fast-rising floodwater overnight.
More than 800 flights were cancelled on Friday affecting many parts of the country since Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the airports caught in the storm, is one of the nation’s major hubs.
Other major airports affected were Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and the Tampa International Airport in Florida.
“The main hazard is very heavy rainfall ongoing over portions of the southeastern United States, which is causing historic and life-threatening flooding,” the National Hurricane Center said on Friday. “Helene is expected to move slower to the northwest later [Friday] and then stall over the Tennessee Valley [Friday night] and through the weekend as it merges with a mid- to upper-level low.
“This merger will also lead to extratropical transition, which is expected to occur later [Friday]. The expected slow motion could result in significant flooding over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys over the southern Appalachians through the weekend.” (UPI)
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