At Least 44 Dead In 4 States, Hundreds Of FL Rescues: Hurricane Helene

Updated at 11:05 p.m. ET Friday

FLORIDA — As communities across Florida assess the wind and water damage caused overnight by Helene’s catastrophic storm surge and strong winds, the death toll has climbed to at least 44 and authorities in several Southeast states warn it will likely go higher. Thousands of people have been rescued from high waters across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

The Associated Press lists 44 fatalities from the storm as of Friday afternoon, while the New York Times tallied 42 deaths.

Power was restored for 1.86 million customers in Florida, while 532,000 remained without it, Gov. Ron DeSantis said about 10 p.m. on social media. As of 11 p.m., 515,362 customers remained without power.

Deputies rescued about 100 people from the Ramada Inn on North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota Thursday night as water from Sarasota Bay began flooding the ground floor, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Multiple deputies waded through rising water to evacuate the guests, which included several elderly people in wheelchairs.

Pinellas County in the Tampa-St. Pete metro reported five people died, at least two by drowning, in coastal communities. Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff, said in a news conference on Friday morning that two of the victims were found on Treasure Island, two in Indian Rocks Beach and one in Dunedin. Hundreds of rescues were made by police and fire crews across the Tampa region overnight.

The New York Times reported seven deaths have been confirmed in Florida. One person was killed in Dixie County, about two hours southeast of Tallahassee, when a tree fell on a house, Gov. Ron De Santis said.

Related: Harrowing Video Shows Drivers Swamped On Tampa Bridge During Helene

A Honda Odyssey was struck by a falling freeway sign Thursday night near 21st Street on Interstate 4, the Florida Highway Patrol said. A Honda Odyssey, driven by a 61-year-old Gibsonton man was westbound with three passengers. A 23-year-old man, also from Gibsonton, suffered fatal injuries in the accident. The driver and other passengers were not hurt.

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• PHOTOS: Category 4 Hurricane Helene Devastates FL, GA

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that even communities hardest hit by Hurricane Helene would get back on their feet, but it will take time.

“It’s tough and we understand that. We also understand that this is a resilient state,” DeSantis said at a news conference in storm-damaged St. Pete Beach, not far from where he grew up in Dunedin, Florida. “We’re going to get people back on their feet. It’s not easy to go through this. It’s not going to be easy in the immediate future, but there’s going to be a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Helene is likely to cause $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage, Moody’s Analytics told the Times.

Insurance data provider A.M. Best on Friday estimated that insurers will pay $5 billion or more to cover losses from Hurricane Helene. That’s not the total amount of loss, some of which is uninsured and some of which may be repaid with federal aid. Instead, it's the amount that insurance companies are on the hook for.

Georgia officials have reported 15 storm-related fatalities, including an emergency worker. Two people died in Laurens County and one in Colquitt County because of the storm. Two people died in a tornado in Wheeler County, in the south-central part of Georgia; in Liberty County, near Savannah, a person had died after a tree fell on a camper. The locations of the other five deaths hasn't been released.

Helene brought record storm surge — up to 20 feet was forecast for parts of northern Florida — to much of the state’s west coast and the Big Bend, flooding and destroying countless homes. By Friday morning it was downgraded to a tropical storm, with sustained winds of 60 mph.

Along with the storm death in Florida, the Associated Press said two people were reported killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached. Trees that toppled onto homes were blamed for deaths in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Anderson County, South Carolina.

The Florida governor's office said most airports have reopened. Transporstation update:

Airports

• The following airports have reopened:
  • Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) has reopened.
  • Tampa International Airport (TPA) has reopened.
  • Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) has reopened.
  • Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL)
• The following airports are working to resume air operations:
  • St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE)
• Some flight cancellations or delays are being reported. Check with airlines directly on specific flight updates.

Rail

• Passenger Rail:
  • Amtrak is assessing damages. Please check with Amtrak directly for service impacts.
  • SunRail service has resumed with some service delays due to power outages.
• Freight Rail:
  • Railroads in the impacted areas are assessing damage and conducting inspections.

Tampa Area Rescues, Key Bridges Partially Open

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office rescued more than 300 people overnight from storm surge. Spokesperson Amanda Granit said those included a 97-year-old woman with dementia and her 63-year-old daughter, who were surprised by the rising water and needed help fleeing their flooded home; and a 19-year-old woman whose car got stuck as she drove in the rising water and couldn’t get out.

Granit said deputies were conducting rescues in such large numbers they had to request county transit buses to get the people to safety.

“Deputies couldn’t move them fast in enough in their patrol vehicles,” Granit said.

In the city of South Pasadena, rescue video shows a house burning early Friday amid flooded streets. Other counties along the Gulf reported more than 100 rescues.

The Coast Guard said it rescued three boaters and their pets from the storm in separate incidents. The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater saved a man and his dog after his 36-foot sailboat became disabled during the storm and took on water about 25 miles off Sanibel Island, according to a Facebook post.

A jet skier in Hillsborough County also had to be rescued earlier Thursday after he got stuck in a submerged wall as the hurricane picked up, WTSP said.

The northbound lanes of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge from Manatee to Pinellas County reopened just before noon Friday. The southbound Skyway Bridge will remain closed until debris clearing and damage assessment is complete, Pinellas County officials said on social media.

And the southbound Howard Frankland Bridge (Hillsborough to Pinellas) is open to traffic. The northbound bridge (Pinellas to Hillsborough) is being inspected and cleared of debris.

Surviving The Storm

Nearly 1.2 million people from Collier County to the Panhandle and across northern Florida into the Jacksonville area remain without power Friday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

Helene made landfall as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds in Florida’s Big Bend area Thursday about 11:10 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. It came ashore just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry.

At least four people were killed during the storm. This includes Helene’s first death, a driver who died after a road sign fell and hit their call on Interstate 4 in Tampa just before 8 p.m., WTSP reported. Two people were also reported killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached. Another person died in Charlotte, North Carolina, when a tree fell on a home.

A fire broke out at a Holmes Beach home overnight, ABC7 reported. Witnesses said the homeowner and her dog were able to escape.

Video on social media sites showed sheets of rain coming down in Perry and siding being torn off a building; the community is near where Helene made landfall. One local news station showed a home that had flipped over.

In Citrus County, some 120 miles south of Perry, first responders were out in boats early Friday to rescue people trapped by the flooding.

“If you are trapped and need help please call for rescuers – DO NOT TRY TO TREAD FLOODWATERS YOURSELF,” the sheriff’s office warned in a Facebook post. The water may contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris, they posted.

Since landfall, a weakened Helene has been downgraded to a tropical storm with 70 mph winds.

After hitting Florida, the storm moved inland, where it delivered damaging wind gusts, rain and the potential for flooding to parts of Georgia, the Carolinas and areas of the southern Appalachians through Friday, the NHC said.

A flood emergency was declared in the Atlanta metro, where close to 6 inches of rainfall overnight, rain continues to fall and tropical storm strength winds are gusting. People are being rescued by boat from homes, apartments and cars in the metro.

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• 'Nobody Worried': St. Pete Downtown Businesses Open Ahead Of Helene
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Before pummeling the Big Bend region, the storm’s outer bands brought significant storm surges to much of Florida’s Gulf coast Thursday, in addition to gusty winds and heavy rainfall, which also extended further inland.

“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where very likely there’s been additional loss of life and certainly there’s going to be loss of property," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday night.

In St. Petersburg, officials were forced to take a sewage treatment plant offline Thursday night because of the storm surge.

Following Hurricane Helene, Clearwater Marine Aquarium said all animals are safe. The facility had some flooding, and while the water has receded, the aquarium will be closed Friday as staff assesses damage and cleans up the facility.

In Pasco County, water rescue efforts of those in flooded homes or trapped in cars on flooded streets continue Friday along the U.S. 19 corridor, officials wrote on Facebook.

Many in the hardest hit coastal communities had to wait for water levels to go down before they could assess damage.

“We understand everyone is eager for updates, and we’re working hard to assess the situation. As we wait for high tide and daylight, please be patient and allow law enforcement and first responders the time they need to evaluate the damage and ensure safety,” Sarasota police wrote in a Facebook post.

This story contains reporting from the Associated Press.