As the last bands of Hurricane Helene exit North Georgia, people throughout the region are breathing a cautious sigh of relief.
The storm shifted eastward overnight, pushing the worst of the winds into the Carolinas.
As of mid-morning Friday, 98% of Spartanburg County, SC, was without power and 90% of Greenville County, SC, was in the dark.
Still, Habersham and Northeast Georgia saw their share of damage.
Regional damage
Roads throughout Northeast Georgia are strewn with fallen trees and debris and at least two Habersham County homes are possibly destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Clean-up efforts to clear roads are underway in Habersham, according to Emergency 911 Director Lynn Smith, who said the full extent of the damage is still unknown.
“It’s widespread,” Smith said. “It’s everywhere. We’ve got trees down. We’ve had crews out all night long. We’ve got roads that are flooded. Power lines that are wrapped up in some of the trees. We’re trying to stay on top of everything.”
Smith said two or three homes in the county were destroyed by fallen trees overnight.
“I’m going to say they’re probably destroyed because they’re going to have to be rebuilt because of the trees going through them,” she said.
White County spokesperson Bryce Barrett described a similar picture and said a “majority of the damage” he’s seen is downed trees and power lines.
“There’s a good number of roads that are impassable,” he said. “I would say that’s the extent of our damage – that and power outages. We came out a lot better than we thought we were going to.”
Rabun County Emergency Management Director Brian Panell said trees have fallen and roads are flooded in Rabun County, although there have been no reports of significant damage to homes so far.
As the eye of the storm passed over Habersham soon after sunrise, the weather calmed and damage assessments began. They will continue throughout the weekend as the full scope of Helene’s impact hits home.
At least 3 storm deaths reported
Helene rumbled into Georgia as a Category 1 hurricane. Within hours of landfall, the state’s first deaths were reported.
Some Atlanta residents had to be evacuated by boat from their apartment complex due to rising floodwaters.
Gov. Brian Kemp confirmed early Friday that two people died after a suspected tornado touched down in Wheeler County, about 88 miles southeast of Macon. Emergency management authorities in neighboring Jeff Davis County urged people to shelter in place due to high winds in the area.
At least one death was reported in Florida when a vehicle was struck by a falling sign.
Officials caution that rivers and creeks could still flood from storm runoff, and trees could topple in the rain-soaked soil. They urge people to stay off the roads, especially in areas where trees and power lines are down. If you encounter a flooded road while traveling, do not attempt to cross it, turn around.
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