Hurricane Helene makes landfall in northwest Florida

CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene made landfall in northwest Florida on Thursday evening as a Category 4 storm, forecasters warned the huge system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring damaging winds and rain to much of the southeastern United States

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Helene made landfall near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of ​​Florida's Gulf Coast around 11:10 p.m. EDT. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 140 miles per hour (225 km/h).

Helene demanded Hurricane and flash flood warnings extends far beyond the coast into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Strong winds had already knocked out power to nearly 900,000 homes and businesses in Florida before landfall, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared states of emergency in their states.

One person died in Florida when a sign fell on their car, and two people were reportedly killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached.

“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we will wake up in a state where there will very likely be additional loss of life and certainly property damage,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday night.

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Helene only arrived almost a year ago Hurricane Idalia crashed into Florida's Big Bend and caused extensive damage. Idalia became a Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico, but made landfall near Keaton Beach as a Category 3 with maximum sustained winds of about 125 miles per hour (205 km/h).

The Wrath of the Storm was felt widely, with persistent tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force winds along Florida's west coast. Water flooded a road in Siesta Key near Sarasota and covered some intersections in St. Pete Beach. Wood and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago fell ashore in rising waters.

Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain had fallen in the mountains of North Carolina, with up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) more possible before the deluge ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything else seen in the last century.

Heavy rains began early Thursday and winds picked up in Valdosta, Georgia, near the state line with Florida. More than a dozen Georgia counties could experience hurricane-force winds of more than 110 miles per hour, according to the weather service.

In south Georgia, two people were killed Thursday evening when a possible tornado struck a mobile home, Wheeler County Sheriff Randy Rigdon told WMAZ-TV. The damage was reported as severe thunderstorms devastated large parts of the state. Wheeler County is approximately 70 miles (113 kilometers) southeast of Macon.

Meteorologist Dylan Lusk said the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Wheeler County Thursday at 8:47 p.m. He said it was one of 12 tornado warnings the office near Atlanta issued for parts of Georgia between 1 and 11 p.m

The storm made landfall in the sparsely populated Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and resort towns where Florida's panhandle and peninsula meet.

“Please write your name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg with a permanent marker so you can be identified and your family notified,” the sheriff's office in predominantly rural Taylor County warned those refusing to evacuate decided in a Facebook post postthe dire advice similar to that given by other officials during previous hurricanes.

Still, Philip Tooke, a commercial fisherman who took over the business his father founded near the region's Apalachee Bay, planned to weather this storm as he did during it Hurricane Michael and the others – on his boat. “If I lose this, I have nothing,” Tooke said. Michael, a Category 5 storm, almost completely destroyed a city, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and caused around $25 billion in damage when it hit the Florida Panhandle in 2018.

However, many adhered to their duty Evacuation orders which extended from the Panhandle south along the Gulf Coast in low-lying areas around Tallahassee, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Lake City, Tampa and Sarasota.

Among them was Sharonda Davis, one of several who had gathered at a Tallahassee shelter fearing their mobile homes would not be able to withstand the wind. She said the size of the hurricane was “more frightening than anything else because it's the consequences that we're facing.”

As the weather service predicted, federal authorities sent search and rescue teams to the country Storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned that they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Apalachee Bay.

“Please, please, please take all evacuation orders seriously!” The office said the surge scenario was “a nightmare.”

Known as the “Forgotten Coast,” this stretch of Florida has been largely spared from the widespread condominium development and commercialization that dominates so many Florida beach communities. The region is known for its natural wonders – extensive salt marshes, tide pools and barrier islands.

“If you live down here, you're at risk of losing everything in a bad storm,” said 20-year-old Anthony Godwin, who lives about a half-mile from the water in the coastal town of Panacea, as he stopped to refuel before heading west toward the house drove to his sister in Pensacola.

School districts and several universities have canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while there were widespread cancellations elsewhere in Florida and beyond.

While Helene is likely to weaken as it moves inland, damaging winds and heavy rains are expected to spread into the southern Appalachians, where landslides are possible, forecasters said. The hurricane center warned that there could be extended power outages and flooding across much of the region. Tennessee was among the states where flooding was expected.

Helene had flooded parts of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula On Wednesday, the water flooded streets and toppled trees as it passed the coast and hit the resort town of Cancun. In western Cuba, Helene cut off power to more than 200,000 households and businesses as she flew past the island.

Hurricane conditions are expected in areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line. The state opened its parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. Nighttime curfews have been imposed in many cities and counties in South Georgia.

“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said.

For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst impact in a major southern city in 35 years, said Marshall Shepherd, a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia.

Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of the record warm sea temperatures.

Further storm activity saw Tropical Storm Isaac form in the Atlantic on Wednesday and was expected to strengthen as it moved eastward over open ocean and could potentially become a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said. Officials said the waves and winds could affect parts of Bermuda and eventually the Azores through the weekend.

In the Pacific, former Hurricane John The storm strengthened into a tropical storm on Wednesday and re-intensified into a hurricane on Thursday as it threatened areas on Mexico's west coast with flash floods and mudslides. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador raised John's death toll to five as communities along the country's Pacific coast prepared for the storm to make landfall a second time.

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Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Valdosta, Georgia; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.