Important points
Helen made landfall in Florida Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of about 140 mph, but has now been downgraded to a tropical storm. At least 20 deaths have been reported in three states. As of 1:30 p.m. ET, about 4 million people were without power across South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, according to PowerOutage.us. Although Helen has weakened, “life-threatening storm surge, winds and heavy rains continue,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Helen made landfall in Florida Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of about 140 mph. It has since weakened to a tropical storm, but continues to cause damage, deaths, and widespread power outages.
At least 20 people had died as of midday Friday across Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, the New York Times reported.
As of 1:30 p.m. ET, about 4 million people were without power across South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, according to PowerOutage.us.
Although it is no longer a hurricane, it is still causing damage.
Helen weakened as it moved into interior Georgia and became a tropical storm, but “life-threatening storm surge, winds and heavy rain continue,” the National Hurricane Center said.
The center also announced at noon ET Friday that the storm was causing “historic and catastrophic flooding in parts of the southeastern and southern Appalachians.”
UBS analysts said in a note on Thursday, citing preliminary estimates from reinsurer Gallagher Re, that Helen’s insured losses could be as much as $3 billion to $6 billion. By comparison, Hurricane Ian, which became a Category 4 storm in 2022, caused about $55 billion worth of damage, UBS analysts wrote.
