Helene kills at least 14 people throughout the CSRA, including two children trapped in the fire

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – At least 14 deaths in the CSRA are attributed to Hurricane Helene, including two young children who were trapped in a burning home.

The deaths span the entire CSRA, including Richmond, Aiken, Saluda, Washington and Columbia counties.

According to Sheriff Joel Cochran, the children died early Friday in Washington County.

He said his office received a 911 call shortly after 4 a.m. reporting that a home on South Hospital Road had caught fire. A tree had fallen against the house, trapping two children inside.

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The children, a 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, both died, the sheriff said.

The deaths included two firefighters in Saluda County who died when a tree fell on their fire truck. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, this happened around 6:30 a.m. on Beulah Road, about four miles east of Batesburg-Leesville.

Five people died in Richmond County, all due to trees hitting homes.

Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen did not release the names but gave the locations:

• 5000 block of Old Waynesboro Road
• 2100 block of Lake Avenue
• 2200 block of Morningside Drive
• 4500 block of Windsor Spring Road
• 3300 block of Wedgewood Drive

Four people died in Aiken County, according to Coroner Darryl Ables.

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View the map of Georgia power outages

Hurricane Helene continues to impact Georgia and has caused widespread outages. Teams respond to outages and safely restore power where possible as quickly as possible.

Among the deaths in Aiken County were a Beech Island couple, 78-year-old Jerry Savage and his wife, 74-year-old Marcia Savage. They were pronounced dead at 11:40 a.m. after a tree crashed through the roof of their home in the 300 block of Church Road and landed on them.

Also killed was 29-year-old Michael Roukous of Dexter, NY, who was pronounced dead at 9:52 a.m. after a tree crashed through the roof of a bed and breakfast home he rented in the 100 block of Casnettie Road in Beech Island .

BY THE NUMBERS:

• Augusta recorded winds of 82 mph from Helene, while Aiken recorded winds of 72 mph.

Additionally, a 70-year-old man was pronounced dead at 8:50 a.m. after a tree crashed through the roof of his home on Metts Park Circle in Aiken. His name will be released after his family is notified.

All Aiken County victims will undergo autopsies Wednesday in Newberry.

In Columbia County, one person died when a tree fell on a mobile home in Grovetown. At 2 p.m., emergency services knew of the death but were still working to gain access to the house.

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Helene killed more than 40 people in several states

At least 11 of those deaths occurred in Georgia, according to Gov. Brian Kemp.

South Carolina reports 19 storm-related deaths.

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