NATIONWIDE — Atlanta was been issued its first-ever Flash Flood Emergency as the now Tropical Storm Helene batters the area with strong winds and heavy rain.
As of Friday morning, Flash Flood Warnings remained in effect for :
- Northern Cherokee County in north central Georgia
- Northwestern Dawson County in north central Georgia
- Southwestern Gilmer County in north central Georgia
- Pickens County in north central Georgia
- Catoosa County in northwestern Georgia
- Northeastern Gordon County in northwestern Georgia
- Murray County in northwestern Georgia
- Northeastern Walker County in northwestern Georgia
- Whitfield County in northwestern Georgia
The warning is set to expire at 2:15 p.m. ET, Friday.
Authorities are urging residents to seek higher ground immediately.
Many parts of the Peach State have been smacked around with heavy winds and substantial rains.
As the hurricane’s eye passed near Valdosta, Georgia, a city of 55,000 near the Florida line, dozens of people huddled early Friday in a darkened hotel lobby. The wind whistled and howled outside.
Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night along the Big Bend coast of Florida as a Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph).
It has since been degraded to a tropical storm, but it is continuing its march up to the north, bringing flooding rain, strong wind gusts and the threat for tornadoes to North Carolina and Georgia.