Hurricane Helene killed at least 43 people and left millions without power across the Southeast as it made landfall in Florida before working its way into Georgia and North Carolina, officials said.
Helene made landfall as a Category 4 shortly after 11 p.m. ET on Thursday. It was the strongest storm to ever strike the area.
Water levels in some parts of the region reached more than 15 feet above ground level, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm is blamed for at least 15 deaths in Georgia, including a first responder, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said at a news conference.
There have been at least seven deaths in Florida, including five reported overnight in Pinellas County, Florida, officials said. The sheriff’s office said two of those deaths appear to have been due to drowning.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that one person died in Dixie County after a tree fell on a home.
North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said a 4-year-old child was killed in a car crash during heavy rain in Catawba County. Three other children who were in the cars were hospitalized: a 12-year-old with life-threatening injuries, a 2-year-old with life-threatening injuries, and a 4-year-old with non-life-threatening injuries.
More than 4.3 million people experienced power outages in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility data.
Duke Energy Florida said nearly 198,000 customers had their power restored, while more than 402,000 were still experiencing outages.
At 2 p.m. ET Friday, the storm was 125 miles southeast of Louisville, Kentucky, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Federal Emergency Management Administrator Deanne Criswell is expected to travel to Florida to survey the damage.
