Hurricane Helene. The element kills in the USA

Helene made landfall around 11:10 p.m. local time near the mouth of the Aucilla River on the Florida Gulf Coast. The maximum wind speed was 140 kilometers per hour, reported the National Hurricane Center in Miami (NHC).

Early on Friday morning, the services reported that Helene had weakened to… storm tropical, but – as recalled – life-threatening strong winds and heavy rainfall continue.

According to CNN, 25 people died as a result of the fire. Fatalities were reported in the following states: Florida (8), Georgia (11), South Carolina (4) and North Carolina (2).

As reported by CNN, one of the victims was a 4-year-old boy. A child died in a road accident in Claremont, North Carolina, which occurred on a slippery road flooded by heavy rain, state highway officials reported.

More than four million customers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia experienced power outages.

Residents of some parts of the city of St. Pete, Florida was advised not to flush toilets because the sewage treatment plant was shut down. City officials warned that the discharge would cause sewage to back up into homes. Officials said it would take at least 48 hours for the plant to resume operations.

Before the hurricane hit, the governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency.

On Friday, the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, urged residents to stay off the roads as the city braces for flooding.

– Stay at home, take care of your safety. Let's also make sure that emergency vehicles can get to where services are needed, said Mayor Andre Dickens.

The strong wind that accompanied the disaster caused trees to fall on buildings. A church in Perry, Florida, lost its roof after renovations were recently completed after last year's hurricane. According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the damage caused by Helene appears to be greater than the combined losses caused last August by hurricanes Idalia and Debby.

At least 115 buildings in the southern Georgia city of Valdosta were severely damaged by Helene, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said on Friday. “We know that many people are trapped in their homes,” he added.

Over 760 liters of water per square meter fell in Busick, North Carolina, in 48 hours. This is about six times more than the average September rainfall for this region.

The AP agency reported that the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Deanne Criswell, went to the most affected areas. The agency dispatched more than 1,500 employees who had participated in about 400 rescue operations as of Friday morning.

Meteorologists earlier warned of storm surges of up to six meters. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Florida's capital, Tallahassee, has issued an “extreme wind” warning for the Big Bend area.

Emergency crews north of Tampa in Citrus County, Florida, conducted more than 100 water rescues, reported Friday. – The storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene reached approximately three meters, County Sheriff Mike Prendergast told CNN on Friday morning.

Helene is the 14th strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. since records began and the seventh strongest hurricane in Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.