Toll of 20 dead in storm-hit south-eastern US could rise as flooding hampers rescues

Hurricane Helene has reportedly killed at least 20 people and left 4m consumers without power across the south-eastern United States after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane, according to officials.

- Ramon Antonio Vargas Richard Luscombe

The storm - which registered maximum sustained winds of 140mph - had weakened to a tropical storm over Georgia early yesterday.

Among the dead was a person in Florida whose car was hit by a sign. At least six people were killed in Georgia alone, including two in the southern part of the state during a tornado possibly spurred by Helene on its approach. Four others died in cases involving falling trees, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Another person died in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a tree fell on a home. Also in Claremont, North Carolina, earlier on Thursday, a fouryear-old girl was killed when two cars crashed in intense rain conditions preceding Helene's arrival.

Meanwhile, as of early yesterday, about 1.1m households and businesses in Florida were without power. South Carolina was reporting 1.4m power outages, Georgia had more than 1m and North Carolina had about 704,000, according to poweroutage.us. Large areas of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia were also out.