Hurricane Helene hit the Florida coastline as a category 4 hurricane with mean wind speeds of 140mph, making it the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Florida Big Bend region. It carried on northwards through several states in the south-eastern US, causing significant devastation. Two hundred people are known to have died, making it the deadliest mainland hurricane in the US since Katrina in 2005.
Rapid weakening occurred as Helene made its way inland, becoming a category 2 hurricane by the time it reached Georgia on Friday morning, then weakening further to a tropical storm later in the day. Despite weakening, the storm continued to bring huge amounts of rainfall and strong winds to Georgia and other states, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
