Streets flooded, trees fell and power went out across Jacksonville area as Hurricane Helene hit

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hours after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 storm, Jacksonville area residents were seeing the damage from the outer bands that swept over much of Northeast Florida.

In San Jose, a tree fell on a car at the Cobblestone Corners apartment complex. As of Friday afternoon, a majority of homes and businesses in Atlantic Beach were still without power.

Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park was closed to the public until further notice because crews were hard at work cleaning up the debris that was littering the park. The City of Atlantic Beach said three feeder circuits sustained significant damage from the high winds overnight.

Streets were flooded and power was out for many traffic lights Friday morning.

(As a reminder, drivers should treat the intersection where the signals are out as a four-way stop.)

MORE: Widespread power outages expected during Helene; JEA urges residents to be safe, patient

Flooding in downtown Jacksonville turned roads and parking lots near the Maxwell House factory and the VyStar Memorial Area into a small lake.

Mayor Donna Deegan said Friday the flooding happened in the areas they were already expecting such as San Marco, Riverside and downtown, and it was already starting to clear up as of Friday morning.

“If you see flood waters, just don’t drive through them, please,” Deegan said. “Depths can be very deceiving and can put you in danger.”

Press play below to watch the latest update from Mayor Donna Deegan on Hurricane Helene

Memorial Park along the riverfront in Jacksonville, which has suffered the brunt of countless storms was hit hard again, as barriers that were protecting a broken area of the balustrades were left floating in floodwaters late Thursday.

The road was blocked for flooding at Riverside Avenue and Copeland near the Publix Shopping Center early Friday morning.

Northeast Florida started to feel the effects of Helene on Thursday, as neighborhoods in Duval County experienced power outages, downed trees and early signs of flooding as conditions started to deteriorate.

RELATED: Hurricane Helene now ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 4 packing 130 mph winds as it moves north toward Florida Panhandle

JSO, JEA and public works said they worked all night to clear roadways and restore power.

According to Deegan, as of 10 a.m., there were 12 roads that were completely obstructed due to downed powerlines and trees.

As of 12:39 p.m., 69,528 JEA customers were still without power.

According to Deegan, Atlantic Beach experienced a “significant” outage that started around 10 p.m. Thursday. She said that there was significant damage to some of the infrastructure that needs to be fixed before power is restored.

In addition, JSO has received 175 weather-related calls, according to the mayor.

Offices closed

Hurricane Helene affected Jacksonville in significant ways overnight, including widespread power outages, downed powerlines and trees across the city, and isolated flooding in the areas that we expected.

With these impacts in mind, City of Jacksonville offices will be closed on Friday, September 27. For the safety of our staff and citizens, only essential employees will report to work today, and the Duval County Emergency Operations Center will continue to be fully activated.

Media Briefings: Mayor Donna Deegan and city leaders will provide updates on the storm response during media briefings at 12:05 PM and 6:05 PM today in the Duval County Emergency Operations Center, 515 N Julia St, Jacksonville, FL 32202.

Shelters: The five city shelters will remain open with the possibility of extending availability if citizen needs continue. Citizens who are medically dependent on electricity special medical needs can call 630-CITY (2489) to setup shelter transportation. JTA will continue to offer free rides to shelters.

Stay Home: Citizens are encouraged to stay at home and off the roads today so that JEA can restore power, and first responders can clear roadways. Now is not the time to venture out while there are downed power lines and standing water that could be energized or of unknown depth. We urge citizens to not drive through or go near standing water.

Information: Citizens should continue looking to local officials and media outlets for reliable information on the situation. For non-emergency questions, call 630-CITY (2489). For emergencies, call 911. We ask all citizens for patience as power restoration and road clearing operations move forward as quickly and safely as possible.

The Duval County Courthouse will remain closed on Friday, and the Duval County Clerk of Courts announces that all its offices will also be closed on Friday. This includes both the Duval County Courthouse and the Clerk’s beaches branch at 1543 Atlantic Blvd.

Please note that all online foreclosure and tax deed auctions scheduled during the closure have been canceled.

Street debris, traffic lights

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department shared a safety warning to urge drivers to stay off the roads with an image of a downed tree blocking a street.

According to the mayor, the city received 155 traffic signal tickets, and 50 of those were still open as of Friday at noon.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office also blocked Mandarin Road from traffic because a strong wind gust caused a tree to fall and take down a live wire.

A homeowner on Jacksonville’s Northside showed News4JAX where their porch had been peeled away by Helene’s high winds.

“Me and my wife were in the living room and about 12:45 this morning the wind just wouldn’t stop, it was real, real hard and noisy, and I went to the back door to see what was going on and as I got the back door, the whole back porch lifted up and went over the house,” Michael Smith said.

Flights affected

Nearly 600 flights had been canceled nationwide as of 3:30 a.m. with another 800 delayed.

Jacksonville International Airport was open Friday morning, but more than two dozen flights had been canceled, including all departures as of 4 a.m.