Mother, twin babies among at least 34 dead in Hurricane Helene

A Georgia mother and her twin babies were among at least 34 people killed in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene, as the storm hit the Deep South on Friday with flooding, fierce winds and falling trees.

The family lived in McDuffie County, Georgia, near Augusta, officials said. Their names and cause of death were not immediately clear.

The deaths came after the storm made landfall in Florida on Thursday as a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane, inundating the region with torrential rain and life-threatening winds.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Helene, one of the largest storms ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico, hit Big Bend, Florida, with winds of 140 mph before downgrading to a tropical depression Friday afternoon.

As the hurricane raged, a couple in Wheeler County, near Macon, died when strong winds overturned their mobile home.

A first responder trying to save lives also died in Georgia – along with dozens of other victims in the Southeast.

“The loss of life that we have seen — a large portion of it is due to fallen trees due to the saturated ground,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said, calling his state a “dangerous environment.”

Meanwhile, more than 800 flights were canceled and millions were without power on Friday as a flash flood emergency not seen since 1919 was declared in the region.

In total, seven people died in Florida, including one person who was killed when a tree fell on his home in the Big Bend region of the state.

Another person died when winds knocked down an Interstate 4 traffic sign near Tampa and it landed on their car, leading to the crash, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

“It just shows that the conditions out there are very dangerous,” DeSantis said during the storm.

A total of five people have died in Pinellas County in the Sunshine State, officials said.

“It will take a while for Pinellas County to look like it did three days ago,” local emergency management director Cathie Perkins said at a news conference.

In Catawba County, North Carolina, a 4-year-old child was killed in a head-on car crash in “heavy rain,” officials said.

Six people were also reported dead in South Carolina.

The death toll continues to rise as rescue efforts are underway in Georgia, Florida and other affected states.

Two children, including a 12-year-old and a two-year-old, were also taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. A third child was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, NBC reports.

The two drivers, Lyndsey Nicole Gaddis, 32, and Tiffany Miner Sipe, 34, were also taken to hospital.