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Minnesotans dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene

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Published  September 28, 2024 10:21pm CDT
Hurricanes
FOX 9

Minnesotans dealing with Hurricane Helene impacts

Some Minnesotans in Florida are dealing with the impacts and the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which ripped through several states causing major damage. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has the latest.

The Brief

    • Hurricane Helene's impacts have been felt across several states, even affecting some Minnesotans.
    • One Minnesotan who recently moved to Florida is dealing with power outages and no AC after the hurricane.
    • Hurricane Helene was a Category 4 hurricane which made landfall late Thursday.

(FOX 9) - Hurricane Helene’s destructive path claimed at least 51 lives across five states, and hundreds were rescued from flooding and damage. The aftermath left neighborhoods underwater and millions without power.

MacKenzie Stein from Minnesota is without power at least until Monday. She moved to St. Petersburg, Florida recently, and evacuated from her home before the Category 4 storm hit.  Now, she's left again waiting for her power to come back on in her apartment.

READ MORE: Helene latest: Live updates from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and the Carolinas

"Not even a month ago I moved there, and I got hit with a Category 4 hurricane," said Stein.

Stein moved to Florida last November from Minnesota. 

"When I went to go drive onto my road, my road was actually flooded. Right outside I could see when I pulled up there was about five or six cars stuck out there in the road," said Stein.

Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend Region with 140 miles per hour winds, with lots of damage on the Barrier Islands.

"Terrible. I've lived here since 1983. We've been here when other hurricanes come through. I'm actually from Minnesota, but we get down here every couple of months, and yeah, this is probably one of the worst ones," said Paul Chadbourn from Minnesota.

Stein was relieved there wasn’t any flooding in her apartment. But now she’s without power and air conditioning, leaving her worried about her cats.

"I gave it a few hours, and then I got the notice that they weren’t going to be putting the power back up until Monday," said Stein.

Mackenzie is hoping her power comes back on Monday. She also mentioned some of her neighbors stayed through the hurricane at her apartment complex. 

Now without any air conditioning, they're forced to find hotels after the storm passed through.

Helene weakened to a tropical depression Friday afternoon.