In Pictures: Helene horror in US as hurricane brings life-threatening floods
Hurricane Helene roared through Florida and Georgia states under darkness on Friday. One of the most powerful storms to hit the United States in recent years, it left a trail of destruction. At least one person died, neighbourhoods were swamped and more than two million homes and businesses were left without power
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Hurricane <span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text">Helene </span>roared through Florida and Georgia states under darkness on Friday as one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States, killing one person, swamping neighbourhoods and leaving more than two million homes and businesses without power. Reuters
The Category 4 storm hit land around midnight, leaving a chaotic landscape of overturned boats in harbours, uprooted trees, stranded cars and flooded streets, according to images from Tampa, Naples and St. Petersburg on Florida's coast. In this picture, residents wade through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba. AP
A drone view shows Alligator Dr as Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>intensifies before its expected landfall on Florida’s Big Bend, in Alligator Point, Florida, US, on September 26, 2024. <span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text">Helene </span>is the joint 14th most powerful hurricane to hit in the US since records began, and the seventh most powerful in Florida, according to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC). Reuters
More than 1.2 million electricity customers in Florida and 800,000 in Georgia suffered power outages, companies said. The St. Pete Pier is pictured among high winds and waves as Hurricane Helene makes its way towards the Florida panhandle, passing west of Tampa Bay. AP
Having reached Florida with 225 kilometres per hour winds, it weakened to 110 kilometres per hour after heading north across Georgia. Up to 50 centimetres of rain were forecast in some places. Douglas Gajus and his wife Tara watch the news as they wait for the arrival of Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>at Lincoln High School which was opened as a shelter in Tallahassee, Florida, US. Reuters
As dawn broke, the NHC said<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>had calmed from a hurricane to a tropical storm. "Continued weakening is expected, and<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>is expected to become a post-tropical low this afternoon or tonight, the NHC said. In this picture, people walk on a street flooded by rainfall caused by Tropical Storm<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene</span>, in Cancun, Mexico. Reuters
A man pushes a cart on a flooded street during rainfall caused by Tropical Storm<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene</span>, in Cancun, Mexico, on September 25, 2024. Reuters
Residents were asked to evacuate in some places and hunker down throughout the region. A woman looks at her dogs sitting on a sofa, as she stands inside her home that was flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba. AP
In this picture, a man is seen floating in a container on a street flooded by the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba. AP
Floridians wait for the arrival of Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>at Lincoln High School, which was opened as a shelter in Tallahassee, Florida. Reuters
Residents of Leon County take shelter from Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>at Leon High School near downtown Tallahassee, Florida. Reuters
Vera Kelly, of Tallahassee, lies on a cot after evacuating to a hurricane shelter with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County. AP
A drone view shows Alligator Dr as Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>intensifies before its expected landfall on Florida’s Big Bend, in Alligator Point, Florida. Reuters
Charles Starling, a lineman with Team Fishel, is pelted with rain as he walks by a row of electrical line trucks stage in a field in The Villages, Florida, in preparation for damage from Hurricane Helene. AP
Officials in low-lying Pinellas County, which sits on a peninsula surrounded by Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, warned the storm's impact could be as severe as last year's Hurricane Idalia, which flooded 1,500 homes. Videos showed swamped beachside roads and water rising over boat docks. Reuters
A view shows the damage caused by Tropical Storm<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>in Puerto Juarez, Cancun, Mexico September 25, 2024. Reuters
Flooding caused by Tropical Storm<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>surrounds vehicles in Cancun, Mexico, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Reuters
A man walks in the rain with bags of groceries as Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>intensifies before its expected landfall on Florida’s Big Bend, in Apalachicola, Florida. Reuters
The Sam's Club fuel island is closed ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Valdosta, Georgia. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and St. Petersburg all suspended operations on Thursday. Rain was whipping parts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, central and western North Carolina, and Tennessee. AP
Satellite image shows Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>churning through the Gulf of Florida, US, September 26, 2024, in his screengrab from a Handout video. Reuters
Waves impact a house seawall as Hurricane<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text"> Helene </span>intensifies before its expected landfall on Florida’s Big Bend, in Eastpoint, Florida. Reuters