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Augusta National is assessing damage to the course following “catastrophic and historic impacts” from Hurricane Helene

Augusta National is assessing damage to the course following “catastrophic and historic impacts” from Hurricane Helene

Augusta National is assessing the damage to the historic golf course hosting the first major golf tournament of the year after Hurricane Helene ripped through the region, killing at least 52 people in its path and leaving millions without power.

The club’s chairman, Fred Ridley, released a statement but added that the club’s focus is on the community that has been devastated the hurricane.

A 100-year-old home in Valdosta, Georgia was struck by an oak tree on Friday, September 27, 2024, as Hurricane Helene moved through the area. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

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“Our Augusta community suffered catastrophic and historic impacts from Hurricane Helene. We are currently assessing the impact at Augusta National Golf Club,” the statement said.

“In the meantime, our focus and efforts are primarily on our employees, neighbors and business owners in Augusta. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well as everyone else.” throughout Georgia and the Southeast, which are affected.”

Footage shared on social media showed trees falling along the route, including along the famous entrance, Magnolia Lane.

Augusta National

A view of Magnolia Lane during a practice round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Andrew Davis Tucker-USA TODAY Sports)

The college football team is stranded on buses on the flooded interstate highway during Hurricane Helene’s devastation

Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 miles per hour. It moved quickly through the Southeast into Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the eastern part of the state was particularly hard hit by the hurricane.

“From the air it looks like a tornado exploded, it looks like a bomb exploded,” Kemp told reporters in Valdosta. “And it’s not just here, it looks like this from here to Augusta.”

Atlanta hurricane

A patron looks at flooding from Hurricane Helene in the Paces neighborhood Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

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Officials say the hurricane killed at least 51 people in five states. FOX Weather reported. At least three million people in several states were without power on Saturday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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