Augusta National assessing impact of Hurricane Helene

Augusta National Golf Club is currently assessing the effects of Hurricane Helene, the club said in a statement released Saturday morning.

While the statement from Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said that Helene had a “catastrophic and historic impact” on the city of Augusta, it did not reveal any details on how the club may have been impacted by the storm.

“Our Augusta community has suffered catastrophic and historic impact from Hurricane Helene. We currently are assessing the effects at Augusta National Golf Club,” Ridley said. “In the meantime, our focus and efforts are foremost with our staff, neighbors and business owners in Augusta. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well as everyone throughout Georgia and the Southeast who have been affected.”

More than 40 people have died from the storm, which has caused “catastrophic, historic flooding” over parts of the southern Appalachians, according to the National Hurricane Center. Helene made landfall Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm. NBC News reported that approximately 4 million people are without power because of the storm, with fears that outages could last weeks.

Photos from around Augusta have shown damaged structures caused by fallen trees and power lines. The National Weather Service reported hurricane-force wins at the Augusta Regional Airport, and the area was hit by heavy rains as well.