BREAKING: Helene leaves 11 dead in Georgia, over 1 million without power
This story was updated on Friday, Sept. 27 at 11:59 a.m.
Helene entered Georgia as a Category 2 hurricane early Friday morning, bringing wind gusts as high as 100 mph and leaving streets and waterways flooded, over 1 million people without power and 11 people dead — including one first responder.
“One of our finest has lost his life trying to save others,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said at a Friday press conference.
Kemp said the path from Valdosta to Augusta took “a very hard hit.” Some 115 structures in Valdosta were heavily damaged and multiple people were trapped inside them.
There were about 150 road closures and at least two interstate closures — I-16 in Lawrence County and I-20 outside of Augusta, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. GDOT road crews were being shifted from Northwest Georgia to assist in South Georgia.
Much of metro Atlanta was under a flash flood emergency on Friday morning.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said at a Friday morning press conference that there were no deaths or serious injuries in the city due to the storm.
But flash flooding in low-lying areas around the city has been an issue. Fire crews rescued several residents from flooding apartments in Buckhead around 4 a.m. Friday, as well as a family with a baby and two dogs in a flooding vehicle.
The Chattahoochee River is nearing almost 30 feet high in some areas in the wake of Helene. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey are forecasting waters will continue to rise through mid-afternoon before easing.
Bill Murphey, Georgia’s state climatologist, says flooding from Helene was exacerbated by rain that came from a cold front the day before the storm.
“The soils are already saturated from the previous rainfall amounts that we’ve had, you know, the past 24 hours,” he told WABE.
Dickens urged people to stay off the roads in Atlanta.
“Trees are still falling, limbs are falling and debris is in the roadway,” he said. “You never know what you may encounter so it’s best to be safe.”
Georgia Power CEO expects outages to rise
Over 110,000 people in metro Atlanta and over 1 million people in Georgia were without power as of 10:45 a.m. Friday., according to poweroutage.us.
Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene said the company has 1,700 crews out across the state, and that they restored power to 120,000 people overnight.
But she expects the number of outages to rise.
“All of that rain is leading to very saturated ground, and trees unfortunately will continue to fall,” Greene said at the Friday press conference.
View a map of the latest Georgia Power outages here and a map of the Georgia EMC outages here.
Kemp orders more National Guard troops, number of flight cancellations increases
Kemp on Friday ordered an additional 1,000 National Guard troops to be used in response to the storm. This was on top of the 500 troops he called into service when he issued a state of emergency earlier this week.
Over 150 flights into or out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday were canceled, according to FlightAware. Over 330 flights were delayed.
Fulton County Emergency Management ended its high wind threat around 9 a.m. Friday. The agency urged residents to avoid downed trees and debris and to avoid travel unless necessary until Friday afternoon.
The storm should continue to weaken Friday afternoon, with winds dropping below 40 mph (64 kph), but it will still produce widespread heavy rain over the Appalachian Mountains with the possibility of mudslides and flash flooding, according to Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.
Local officials urge caution
Motorists should call 511 if they see flash flooding, downed trees, fallen power lines and other road blockages. GDOT strongly urged motorists not to clear debris on the road by themselves, since downed power lines could still be live and cause electric shock or death.
Those who need to use Georgia roadways should consult www.511ga.org or call 511. The City of Atlanta advised residents to call 311 if they see downed trees, trees blocking the road or flooding (unless someone is hurt, then call 911).
GDOT crews will prioritize cleanup on interstates, then address state routes, focusing on roads to hospitals and other essential services.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for the state of Georgia. That move makes federal assistance available to support state and local agencies responding to the storm.
WABE’s Marisa Mecke and AP contributed to this report.
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