ROCHESTER, NY (WHAM) – Rochester residents Rob Ziegler and William Chase shared their experiences with Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast Thursday evening.

BACKGROUND:Rochester residents are facing the wrath of Hurricane Helene on Florida’s Gulf Coast|Severe Hurricane Helene hit Florida hard on Thursday evening| GALLERY: Category 4 Hurricane Helene devastates Florida| Helene was classified as a Category 4 Extremely Dangerous Hurricane

Rob Ziegler moved from Rochester, NY to Raleigh, North Carolina; directly in the path of Hurricane Helene.

“The rain either came straight down,” Ziegler said. “Sideways, from all possible directions, violent, violent thunderstorms.” So every three to five seconds, lightning bolts disappeared directly behind my complex.

He said Hurricane Helene brought 60 mph winds and flash flood warnings.

“I thought they were going to come up,” Ziegler said. “I thought my car was going to fly away while I was driving. That didn’t happen. Compared to Asheville…”

At one point in Asheville, cars were stuck in the water surrounded by feet of floodwater.

Meanwhile, near Orlando, Phelps, NY, native William Chase lost power for nearly 12 hours. Orlando felt the outer bands of the hurricane.

“Still rubble,” Chase said. “You know, on people’s yards, stuff like that. But we haven’t really dealt with the mass flooding.”

He was grateful that they didn’t experience the worst.

“It wasn’t as bad here as it was on the coast,” Chase said. “Not through Tallahassee and the Panhandle in the Big Bend area of ​​Florida because they’ve really been hit by what I’m seeing…”

Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which lasts until the end of November. At least 45 people have died in five states.

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