Florida residents escape to Philly after Hurricane Helene leaves behind devastation
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- More than a thousand flights have been canceled nationwide due to Hurricane Helene.
Crews are continuing their rescue efforts down south to help those trapped.
For the people who evacuated, it's now a waiting game to see when they will return home too.
READ MORE: Tracking Helene: At least 43 dead, millions without power after hurricane slams South
Helene hit land late Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane -- it's one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Big Bend.
Some folks like Pamela Miles evacuated.
"I wasn't worried until about 10:00 p.m. last night, apparently that's when the fast tide came in and just changed everything," explained Pamela Miles who lives part-time in Indian Rocks Beach in Pinellas County, Florida.
Miles grew up in Ocean City, New Jersey, but lives part-time in Florida.
She left her home and drove 40 minutes to wait out the storm at her son's house in St. Petersburg.
"I put everything up, the trash cans in the back, closed all the blinds, put all the artwork and things I feel are valuable up on chairs," Miles said.
Mary Parsons Snyder, of Parrish, Florida, arrived in Philadelphia on Friday morning, fleeing the rain and wind-battered state just hours after Helene made landfall as a Category 4.
"The airport had just reopened this morning. We were one of the first flights out. So we lucked out," she said.
The powerful storm left some areas devastated and many without power, like Theresa Daly.
"Looking forward to a little air conditioner and hot water here in Philadelphia," said Daly. "We lost power at 5, that's when my husband heard the big crash and I think we've got like a 75-year-old tree, came across our tree yard."
During the same time, Joe Savarra, of Blue Bell, Pa., says his hotel was forced to evacuate.
"I was staying at one hotel that was on the causeway going into Clearwater, we had to evacuate," he said.
Volunteers from our region and across the country traveled to Florida ahead of the storm to help. Now, they're sending meals to 2,200 families as well as supplies.
"We give out cleaning kits. We give out rakes and shovels, trash bags, water snacks and meals. We'll be all over the state by tomorrow," said Larry Daly a volunteer with the American Red Cross.
Helene has since weakened to a tropical storm but intense rainfall and threats of flash flooding still looms in Georgia and the Carolinas.
Residents in Atlanta had to be rescued after a flash flood emergency.
"We went downstairs to check on everybody and then we started getting, floating away and the boat came right in time to save us," said Carrie Lawrence of Atlanta, Georgia.
