Death Toll Rises As Storm Helene Ravages Florida

At least 20 people have been killed since Storm Helene made landfall in Florida in Thursday’s night – including a first responder who Georgia Governor Brian Kemp says died trying to save others

Streets are underwater in parts of Kemp’s state, where the National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings and warned more than a million people are at risk

In Florida, clean up operations are under way, with a Cedar Key resident telling the BBC his home “miraculously survived” while others “are missing or flattened” entirely

One of the biggest storms to ever hit the Gulf Coast, Helene has barrelled across Georgia towards Tennessee and the Carolinas after devastating Florida with fierce winds and flash flooding

After making landfall near Perry, Florida on Thursday, Helene moved north – bringing destruction to Georgia and the Carolinas along the way.

The storm slammed into the Gulf Coast as a category four hurricane, making it one of the most powerful and widest to hit the US in history, but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.

People living in coastal areas of Florida were badly affected, with a Cedar Key resident telling the BBC he’d seen entire homes flattened or go missing.

At least 20 people have died, including an emergency responder in Georgia, and millions are without power.

We’re expecting an update from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shortly, which we’ll bring you the key lines from.

Storm Helene has left more than four million customers in the US without power as it continues northward, the latest figures show.

Culled from BBC