How to help victims dealing with surge waters, loss of Florida homes

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida Big Bend, leaving flooding, damage and destruction along Florida’s Gulf Coast before speeding north, causing damage and power outages in Georgia and threatening dam breaks Friday in Tennessee as a downgraded tropical depression.

There were 1.2 million Florida power customers waking up in the dark early Friday morning, having to deal with what is now the aftermath of the fast-moving tropical cyclone. Power outages are only some of the many problems Helene has left Floridians. Streets in Tampa and other Gulf communities were “turned into rivers” by surges as Helene barreled by.

➤ Live updates for Sarasota and Manatee counties: Get the latest for the Sarasota area.

➤ Live updates for Lee County: Get the latest for the Fort Myers area.

➤ Live updates for Collier County: Get the latest for the Naples area.

➤ Live updates for the Florida Big Bend: Get the latest for the Tallahassee area.

➤ Live updates for Volusia and Flagler counties: Get the latest for the Daytona Beach area.

On Friday morning, Hurricane Helene weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, and then a strong tropical storm tracking into the Atlanta area.

Helene made landfall with 140 mph winds in Taylor County, Florida, just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida. This is another big blow near where both hurricanes Debby and Idalia made landfall the last two Augusts.

This storm, like the two other recent ones to hit Florida’s Big Bend, again spared a head-on impact to state capital Tallahassee.

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Hurricane Helene’s landfall is about 30 miles northwest of where Hurricane Idalia made landfall in August 2023.

Helene, after sending surge into the western Florida Gulf Coast en route to landfall, arrived with 140 mph winds about 10 miles west of Perry, Florida, at about 11:10 p.m. ET Thursday. It’s the first Category 4 storm to hit the Big Bend region since 1851, USA TODAY reported.

Helene made its way through Georgia, damaging trees and snapping power poles, including those in Augusta.

Helene weakened into a tropical storm with sustained winds at 45 mph at 11 a.m. ET Friday, the National Hurricane Center said. At that point, the storm was 30 miles southwest of Bryson City, North Carolina, and 105 miles north-northeast of Atlanta.

Residents of Newport, Tennessee, were ordered to evacuate at 2:56 p.m. Friday after the Waterview Dam failed because of rising waters caused by Helene. Authorities in Cocke County were evacuating residents along the Pigeon and French Broad rivers, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

Helene’s heavy rain also is causing floods in North Carolina. Evacuations have been ordered with the expected failure of the Lake Lure Dam.

Here is a USA TODAY graphical story of the path of Hurricane Helene.

— Christopher Cann, Trevor Hughes, Thao Nguyen and Gabe Hauari

Where is the hurricane now? Status of Helene

Helene is now Tropical Depression Helene and is having devastating effects with “catastrophic flooding over portions of the Southeast and Southern Appalacians.” The storm was centered over McCreary County, Kentucky in the National Hurricane Center’s latest update, with damaging effects in East Tennessee.

Officials in Cocke County, Tennessee, urged everyone in downtown Newport to evacuate immediately Sept. 27 after the Waterville Dam “suffered a catastrophic failure” while the Pigeon and French Broad rivers were rising at rapid rates.

Earlier, in Georgia trees and powerlines were smashed and the storm left thousands in Georgia with damage and without power.

Sheriff calls post-Helene Pinellas County ‘a war zone’

Officials in Florida’s Pinellas County – hundreds of miles from where Helene came ashore – painted a grim picture when describing the storm’s impact on its coast.

“I would just describe it, having spent the last few hours out there, as a war zone,” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri at a news conference Friday morning.

He said roads were impassable and that debris and damage were widespread: “It’s going to take awhile before that area gets back to any sense of functionality.”

Along the Pinellas County coast, storm surge overnight reached over 8 feet – ”something we’ve never seen before” said Cathie Perkins, director of the county’s emergency management, at a news conference Friday.

— Rick Neale

Tour Florida hurricane damage sites in video, photos from the ground and the air

The USA TODAY Network’s Florida photojournalists captured the damage and aftermath caused by the record-breaking Category 4 Hurricane Helene across multiple cities along the coast and the state’s capital.

In just a matter of hours, Helene brought torrential rains, storm surge and flooding and left behind wind-damaged and swamped, neighborhoods homes and businesses. Cleanup will likely take weeks.

More than 30% of affected residents get power back in Florida

Numbers from various Florida power companies showed that 846,000 customers remained without electricity, down from pre-dawn numbers of 1.2 million. Pinellas’ county’s 190,000 customers remained by far the highest overall outage number before 3 p.m. Friday.

How to help victims of Hurricane Helene

Money donations are key in the early hours after a disaster because organizations can mobilize to supply what people need and get it at bulk prices. Here’s a list of some charities to consider to help with Hurricane Helene relief, though you should always check them out:

All Hands and Hearts: This volunteer-based organization works alongside local residents to help by rebuilding schools, homes and other community infrastructure. It has a Helene fund started.

American Red Cross: Always one of the first groups in and probably the best-known aid organization in the world, the Red Cross offers food, shelter, supplies, and emotional support to victims of crisis. It already has hundreds of workers and volunteers in Florida and has opened dozens of shelters for evacuees. You can contribute to the national group’s Helene relief efforts.

Americares: Americares focuses on medical aid, helping communities recover from disasters with access to medicine and providing personal protective equipment and medical supplies. To help Hurricane Helene victims, Americares has set up a donation page.

Global Giving: This disaster relief charity provides immediate aid after emergencies to people, animals, and front-line workers and helps displaced families, but also addresses long-term assistance with a focus on local organizations. Donate to its Helene Ida fund here.

GoFundMe: GoFundMe fundraisers for people impacted by Hurricane Helene are already piling up in this popular crowdfunding site that connects you directly to people who need help. This can be a great way to help individuals in need and put a face on the person you’re donating to, but it also can be an easy way to get scammed. Read the campaigns carefully.

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief: A grassroots disaster relief network dedicated to getting help directly to the underserved communities who are often left out. Donate at mutualaiddisasterrelief.org .

Operation Blessing: This group works with emergency management and local churches to bring clean water, food, medicine and more supplies to people with immediate needs in disaster areas. Donate to their Helene fund here.

The Salvation Army: Another group quick to get on the ground when disaster strikes, the Salvation Army provides food, drinks, shelter, emotional and spiritual care and other emergency services to survivors and rescue workers.  You can donate to Helene efforts here.

United Way: Local United Way organizations are accepting donations to help relief efforts for both short-term and to to continue helping residents later. You can find your local chapter here.

World Central Kitchen: When there is a disaster, Chef José Andrés is there with his teams to set up kitchen facilities and start serving thousands of meals to victims and responders. You can help by donating here.

— C. A. Bridges

DeSantis activates Florida’s National Guard

Gov. Ron DeSantis authorized activation of about 3,900 members of the Florida National Guard for Hurricane Helene response.

The guard is supporting 67 State Emergency Operations Center missions in 21 counties. Search and rescue missions to assist local authorities began in Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Pasco, Hernando and Pinellas counties.

There were 80 rescues and evacuations of people, and  55 more of animals, according to a release by the state.

Crystal River, Florida sees storm flood inundation

Helene helps cancel Hurricane Ian remembrance in Fort Myers Beach

Citing the effects of Hurricane Helene, Fort Myers Beach town officials announced the Hurricane Ian remembrance ceremony for the storm’s two-year anniversary, initially set Saturday morning, has been canceled.

“Due to the effects of Hurricane Helene and the cleanup our Town staff is currently undertaking, we regret to inform you that our Hurricane Ian Remembrance and Resiliency Ceremony has been canceled,” Nicole Berzin, spokesperson for Fort Myers Beach, wrote in a press release.

Big Bend’s Steinhatchee sees more destruction, this time from Helene

Her riverside home is destroyed, eight of the 24 riverside rental units she owns were flooded, and the electrical system powering the riverside marina building may have been fritzed.

And still, Danielle Norwood, 59, owner of the Sea Hag Marina that fronts the Steinhatchee River along Riverside Drive, was smiling somehow as she pointed to a concrete floor that had crumbled.

“I think I’m stunned at this point, I can’t release a lot of emotions,” she said. And then she paused.

“We’ll build back,” she said. “We’re those kind of people.”

— Anne Geggis

7 dead in Florida from Hurricane Helene; 5 in Pinellas

In Florida, at least seven deaths have been attributed to the Hurricane Helene.

In Pinellas County, which encompasses Clearwater and St. Petersburg, five people suffered storm-related deaths, said Cathie Perkins, director of emergency management, at a news conference Friday.

Earlier Friday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters a person died in Dixie County, along the Big Bend coast, after a tree fell on a home. On Thursday night, a person was killed in a storm-related traffic fatality in Ybor City in Tampa, the governor said.

— Thao Nguyen, Christopher Cann and Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY

Bayshore Blvd Tampa flooding has people in kayaks

The Tampa Bay area of Florida including Bayshore Boulevard and parts of Pinellas County were flooded badly by Hurricane Helene’s pass.

Even before landfall happened, at least 12 hours ahead of Helene’s late-night arrival in Perry, the water was coming over the railings in Bayshore, a prominent community in Tampa. Because of the flooding, people explored the impromptu “street river” in kayaks and canoes.

“Purple kayak guy” went viral on social media − on X, formerly known as Twitter, and TikTok − for narrating Hurricane Helene flooding conditions while kayaking inside a home.

— Jennifer Sangalang

Storm surge is going to be a Gulf Coast problem for days and days

Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida, along with Sarasota-Manatee and Taylor County where Hurricane Helene made landfall are all in the clear of the storm’s powerful winds. But storm surge is going to be a really big problem in many communities in those areas.

The combination of a life-threatening storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach a number of heights above ground  if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide.

Details about how high are here.

Hurricane Joyce? Maybe. Another storm is brewing in the Caribbean

An area of low pressure could form over the western Caribbean Sea by the middle of next week, according to the National Hurricane Center. Is another tropical storm or hurricane forming? It’s too early to tell.

➤ Tropics watch Sept. 27: Here’s the latest on what’s happening in the tropics

Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for slow development thereafter while the system moves generally northwestward, potentially entering the Gulf of Mexico by the end of next week.

“Experts are identifying this as a medium risk area for a tropical storm to develop. It could find itself in the southern Gulf of Mexico later next week and then be a threat to the Gulf Coast,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter. “If it tracks toward Florida, that would be extra special concern after the serious impact this week from Helene.

“Early indications are that it could be a threat to U.S. Gulf Coast sometime either late next week.” or Oct. 5-6, Porter said.

— Cheryl McCloud

Florida capital of Tallahassee misses brunt of hurricane again

Helene, the most powerful hurricane on record to strike Apalachee Bay and one that threatened Tallahassee with a direct hit, made landfall to the east instead late Thursday, bringing more destruction to a storm-weary part of North Florida.

The hurricane, with fierce 140-mph winds at landfall, was the third to barrel into the Taylor County coastline in just 13 months and plunge that part of North Florida into darkness and misery. All three landfalls were roughly 23 miles apart in Taylor County.

“I would say it’s rather incredible,” said Jasmine Montgomery, meteorologist with NWS Tallahassee. “There’s no rhyme or reason to it. These storms, more or less, developed in the Caribbean, moved up through the Gulf of Mexico and kept going until they hit land. It’s just the Gulf Coast is prime real estate for a hurricane.”

— Elena Barrera

A sewer system in St. Petersburg shut down, may be disabled for days

St. Petersburg’s Northeast Sewer Plant has been shut down because of flood damage, and inspections that must be completed. The part of the city that is affected is north of 30th Avenue North and east of Haines Road or Interstate 275.

Important information was relayed by officials in the Instagram video posted below.

Water is available for drinking but you cannot put water down the drain or it will come back up.

Dozens of fires calls and rescues overnight in Pasco County, Florida

Pasco County Fire Rescue and supporting agencies responded to 31 reports of structure fires in the darkness between 10 p.m. Thursday — when Hurricane Helene’s surge started rolling ashore — and 7 a.m. Friday, said Tambrey Laine, county spokesperson.

First responders also performed 135 rescues as of 7:30 a.m. Friday, Laine said. Thirty-eight Pasco County roads remain closed and impassible.

“All of our shelters remain open. That’s the biggest question we’re getting right now is, where are these people going?” she said of residents with flooded homes.

— Rick Neale

There was a Hurricane Helene fatality in Florida

Officials reported a person killed when a car driving on Interstate 4 near Ybor City in Tampa was hit Thursday night when a sign fell onto the highway.

“We know that travel on the roads can be hazardous, and we typically, unfortunately, will have fatalities in every storm from that,” DeSantis said. “When you are out on the roads in the middle of one of these storms, that is very, very dangerous.”

— Ana Goñi-Lessan

Sarasota storm surge remains a danger Friday

The threat level from storm surge remains significant. Storm surge for Sarasota and Manatee counties is projected at 3 to 5 feet above the mean high water line today.

A storm surge of 6.04 feet was recorded at Port Manatee at 12:30 a.m. Friday but had not yet peaked.

— Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Sanibel, Southwest Florida see widespread flooding

There wasn’t a breach, but the Florida Department of Transportation has closed the Sanibel Causeway both ways, Sanibel spokesman Eric Jackson said.

City offices will remain closed today because of “Significant flooding on the island,” Jackson said. “Staff will be assessing and responding. It will take some time for water to recede and for crews to clean up debris from roadways.

— Mark H. Bickel

Is there school today in Florida?

There were 46 of Florida’s 67 counties with school districts closed Friday morning. Some universities and colleges are also closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

➤ Here is a list of Florida schools that are open and closed.

— Cheryl McCloud

Hurricane vs. tropical storm: Helene is now downgraded

Hurricane Helene blew by Florida’s western Gulf Coast and then made landfall in the Big Bend, near Perry, Florida after 11 p.m. on Thursday. By Friday morning the storm was raging through Georgia as a tropical storm. What’s the difference?

Hurricane categories on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale:

Category 1: Winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr). Very dangerous winds will produce some damage.

Category 2: Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage.

Category 3: Winds 111-129 mph (96-112 kt or 178-208 km/hr). Devastating damage will occur

Category 4: Winds 130-156 mph (113-136 kt or 209-251 km/hr). Catastrophic damage will occur

Category 5: Winds 157 mph or higher (137 kt or higher or 252 km/hr or higher). Catastrophic damage will occur

Tropical Storm: Winds 39-73 mph

Nearly 11% of Florida power customers were in the dark Friday morning after Hurricane Helene sent rains, surge, floods and wind damage across the peninsula and panhandle.

After 6:30 a.m. there were nearly 1.2 million people still without power in Florida. The top five counties with power outages were:

Pinellas County (St. Petersburg/Clearwater): 234,189

Duval County (Jacksonville): 120,704

Alachua County (Gainesville): 72,627

Leon County (Tallahassee): 70,633

Hillsborough County (Tampa): 64,794

Is there another hurricane forming?

Hurricane Isaac formed Thursday and is in the middle of the Atlantic steering generally eastward far from the United States.

Another system is Invest 98L, in the easter and central tropical Atlantic, which has a 90 percent chance of formation in the next 48 hours. There are also three other systems brewing, including one in the Caribbean.

The National Weather Service forecast outlook describes showers and thunderstorms associated with an area of low pressurelocated midway in between the Cabo Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles that continues to remain well organized.

Environmental conditions are conducive for further development and a tropical depression or storm could form at any time today while the system moves generally westward to west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph. The system is then forecast to slow down and turn north-northwestward by this weekend.

Perry is located on Florida’s Gulf coast in the Big Bend region.

Florida’s “Big Bend” is in the curve of Florida’s peninsula around the Gulf of Mexico. The area includes Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties and is composed largely of “untamed coastal landscape,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Perry is about 50 miles from Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city.

— Grace Pateras and C. A. Bridges

What category was Hurricane Helene in Florida?

Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, as a Category 4 storm

Helene is the strongest hurricane ever to make landfall along Florida’s Big Bend, on record since 1851. That exceeds the previous record for the region set by the Cedar Key hurricane in 1896, which had winds of 125 mph, said Phil Klotzbach, a senior research scientist at Colorado State University.

— Dinah Pulver

Where is Helene going?

Hurricane Helene’s pre-landfall Florida impacts

Weather radar Florida

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hurricane Helene Florida wind damage, flooding live updates Friday