Millions Without Power In Wake Of Cat 4 Hurricane Helene

It was another monster storm, coming ashore in the same place the last storm did. Via the New York Times:

Helene thrashed Florida overnight as a powerful hurricane, producing dangerous storm surge along the coast and bringing heavy winds and rain across the Southeastern United States as it moved inland as a tropical storm on Friday.

The storm knocked out power for more than two million households in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

State officials said the damage wrought by Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, would only come into full view with daylight. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said that authorities were aware of one storm-related death as of late Thursday. Helene largely spared Tallahassee, the state’s capital.

President Biden signed off on emergency declarations for Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina before Helene made landfall, making federal resources available to the states as they braced for impact.