VIDALIA, Ga. (WTOC) - Clear skies and a long history of storms gave the people of Vidalia a false sense of security the day before Hurricane Helene hit.

Eric and Kellyn Wilkes thought it would be just another storm.

“I think my quote was, we probably just lost power for a few days,” Eric said.

Even state leaders felt prepared.

“This was not something unexpected or new to us,” said Georgia State Senator Blake Tillery. “Nothing new, we had been through storms before.”

But nothing could have prepared them for what was coming.

As the storm warnings grew more urgent, families huddled together, waiting for Helene’s arrival.

It’s a day many Middle Georgians will never forget and never wish to relive.

“You could hear the trees going,” Vidalia Mayor Doug Roper said. “What was unsettling was

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