--- title: Hurricane Helene: A Look at the Damage description: Hurricane Helene hit Florida as a category 4 storm Thursday night, killing at least 13 people across Florida and Georgia and causing widespread damage, power outages and flooding throughout several states in the south. canonical: https://time.com/7025932/hurricane-helene-damage-photos/ author: Simmone Shah article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-09-27T16:58:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T13:11:34.000Z article:section: Climate og:title: A Look at Damage From Hurricane Helene og:description: On Friday morning, Gov. DeSantis reported two storm-related deaths in Florida. og:url: https://time.com/7025932/hurricane-helene-damage-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494421e5b706447b/698a5b8316d884b471c3f25b/hurricane-helene-2024-florida-cuba-flooding-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Hurricane Helene og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Look at Damage From Hurricane Helene twitter:description: On Friday morning, Gov. DeSantis reported two storm-related deaths in Florida. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494421e5b706447b/698a5b8316d884b471c3f25b/hurricane-helene-2024-florida-cuba-flooding-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # A Look at Damage From Hurricane Helene > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Florida Resident Gives Tour of Devastated Cedar Key in the Wake of Helene [Watch (HLS stream): Florida Resident Gives Tour of Devastated Cedar Key in the Wake of Helene](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hkqCVc8i.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2024-09-27. A Florida resident provided a devastating first-hand look at hard-hit Cedar Key Friday morning after parts of the town were flattened by Hurricane Helene._ Updated: Jan 19, 2026 1:11 PM UTCPublished: Sep 27, 2024 4:58 PM UTC  A man crosses a storm surge flooded area on the coast of Gulfport, Fla. on Sept. 26, 2024. A man crosses a storm surge flooded area on the coast of Gulfport, Fla. on Sept. 26, 2024. Thomas Simonetti—The Washington Post/Getty Images  by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/)  ## Simmone Shah Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 1:11 PM UTCPublished: Sep 27, 2024 4:58 PM UTC Hurricane Helene hit Florida as a category 4 storm Thursday night, killing at least 21 people in four states. The storm has caused widespread damage in Florida, and power outages and flooding throughout several states in the south. Helene began as a tropical storm earlier this week, but was upgraded to a category 4 hurricane before it reached the U.S.The storm first made landfall in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region before moving up the Gulf Coast. It brought maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and record-breaking storm surges to the state. As the storm made landfall in Perry, Florida, on Thursday Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cautioned residents to expect the worst: “When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where very likely there’s been additional loss of life and certainly there’s going to be loss of property,” he said during a press conference late Thursday. **Read more**: [_See the Path of Storm Helene After it Left Trail of Destruction_](https://time.com/7023975/tropical-storm-helene-hurricane-florida/) On Friday morning, DeSantis reported two storm-related deaths in the state, and added that there were 1.24 million customers without power across the state. A spokesperson for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp told [AP](https://apnews.com/live/hurricane-helene-tracker-maps-updates#00000192-3417-dc36-af9f-37d71e610000) that 11 people have died in the state, and dozens more are trapped in their homes. Millions in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida are [without power](https://poweroutage.us/) due to the storm. As the system moved up the coast of Florida and into Georgia and the Carolinas on Friday morning, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm. The National Hurricane Center warned of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, including numerous significant landslides, in the southern Appalachian region on Friday. Flooding is also expected in Northwestern, northern, and southeast Florida on Friday.  Guests at the Magic Kingdom break out ponchos at Cinderella's Castle as bands of weather from Hurricane Helene move through Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Fla. on Sept. 26. Joe Burbank—Orlando Sentinel/AP  People fill sandbags at Helen Howarth Park ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Helene in Pinellas Park, Fla. on Sept. 25. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  Tanner Flynn stands in shallow water near crashing waves as Hurricane Helene passes offshore in St. Petersburg, Flag. on Sept. 26. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  Flood waters wash over Guy Ford Road bridge on the Watauga River as Hurricane Helene approaches in the North Carolina mountains, in Sugar Grove on Sept. 26. Jonathan Drake—Reuters  A damaged 100-year-old home is seen after an Oak tree landed on it after Hurricane Helene moved through Valdosta, Ga, on Sept. 27. Mike Stewart—AP  Workers clear debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Cedar Key, Fla., on Sept. 27. Gerald Herbert—AP  Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina via a container through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on Sept. 26. Ramon Espinosa—AP  Flood waters inundate the main street after Hurricane Helene passed through Tarpon Springs, Fla. on Sept. 27. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  A damaged gas station structure in Perry, Fla., on Sept. 27. Marco Bello—Reuters  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, on Sept. 26. Ramon Espinosa—AP  A capsized boat washes ashore as Hurricane Helene churns offshore in St. Petersburg , Fla. on Sept. 26. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  An American flag sits in the floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Fla. on Sept. 27. Mike Carlson—AP ## Transcript That building there is gonna come apart. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Say a prayer, friends. I was trying to make it to my mama's house. But it's neck deep here. I'm not able to get any further. Oh, man. This is a deep little spot. It's possible it's not quite as bad on golf, but I just don't know. I don't know. This is the museum. Oh, no. It's chest deep here now. Oh, no. The water's made it in the museum. I'm not going to be go much further. It's about to be over my head. After the most punishing night, any of us could ever have imagined. The morning is breaking bright and beautiful, which is a cruel irony for the scenes we're seeing around the island. Eentire houses are missing or flattened in on themselves. The ar store is gone. The downtown Jiffy completely destroyed. The post office destroyed. Brian's big neck is gone. It's hard to take in. However, bad, we imagined it would be when we are fighting this thing in the darkness. It's so much worse in the daylight. This recovery will be measured in years and years, not months. And I suspect we will see a mass exodus from the island. We're going to find out who really loves Cedar Key friends. It's unbelievable. 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