Hurricane Helene downgraded to tropical storm as winds of 140mph leave three dead and two million without power

27 September 2024, 11:31

Hurricane Helene has hit land in Florida, bringing with it winds of up to 140mph and leaving three dead and two million without power.

The Category 4 hurricane, which was downgraded to a powerful tropical storm on Friday after making landfall, has left a trail of destruction in its wake.

The National Hurricane Centre iin the US warned of "catastrophic", "life-threatening" and "record-breaking" flash and urban flooding as the storm hit land.

Three people are now said to have died - including two people in Wheeler County, Georgia.

The county coroner has told CBS News that it takes the total confirmed death toll from Hurricane Helene to three after one individual died in Florida after being hit by a road sign.

The hurricane centre warned of "catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, including numerous significant landslides" overnight cross the southern Appalachians.

It's led many to take to social media in a bid to show the world the level of flooding taking place across southern states.

Taking to social media, one resident located in Tampa, Florida, live-streamed himself kayaking around his flooded home.

Matthew Heller explained he was adding chlorine to the water in a bid to fight bugs and bacteria, but admitted the foundations of his house was "bubbling".

"That's not good, that's how sinkholes happen," he continued, adding water was still pouring in through his garage.

Asked what he was still doing in his home, Mr Heller said: "I'm just a Florida man doing Florida things"

Kayaking outside he said: "The river is in the house, the house is in the river".

Helene has maximum sustained winds of 225 kph, the Miami-based UA National Hurricane Center said late on Thursday.

Those winds have since calmed as land and buildings disrupt the hurricane's pass and lessen its strength.

States of emergency have been declared across a host of the south, including Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia and Alabama.

Helene is now tied as the 14th most powerful hurricane to hit anywhere in the US since records began, according to data from the National Hurricane Centre.

The downgrade meant that by 10am UK time, that Helene was roughly 100 miles (165km) southeast of Georgia's capital city of Atlanta, with maximum sustained winds of 70mph (110kmh).