Taylor County Sheriff Wayne Padgett said 90% of Keaton Beach homes “are gone” in the aftermath of the storm.
Major Hurricane Helene came roaring ashore into Florida’s Big Bend region as a catastrophic Category 4 storm, lashing the region with hurricane-force winds and threatening with a potentially “unsurvivable” 20-foot storm surge and flooding rain.
Helene made landfall about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, at 11:10 p.m. ET Thursday with impacts felt hundreds of miles away. At least two deaths were reported in Wheeler County, Georgia, where a mobile home was damaged during one of the many Tornado Warnings. In Florida, at least one person was killed in a crash on Interstate 4 in the Tampa area that involved a highway sign on top of a car.
The hurricane’s storm surge was significant enough to trigger water rescues from the Big Bend to Southwest Florida, and mobile homes were even said to be floating in the coastal town of Steinhatchee.
Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for 61 of the state’s 67 counties to help agencies prepare for the storm.
Shelters have also been opened for evacuated Florida residents, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management said that as of Wednesday night, about 500 people were seeking safety in a shelter.
And it wasn’t only residents who have been busy preparing – travel is also being impacted.
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LIVE NOW: Senate Boeing hearing, Hurricane Helene Surges Towards Florida FULL COVERAGE
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