Hurricane Helene live updates: 44 dead across the South

At least 44 people have died from Hurricane Helene.

In Georgia, 15 people were killed, including a first responder who was trying to save others, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said.

In McDuffie County, just west of Augusta, a mother and her twin infants were among the victims, officials said.

In Wheeler County, southeast of Macon, a man and a woman were killed after their mobile home overturned, local officials said.

In Florida, 9 people have died.

One person died in Dixie County in the Big Bend region when a tree fell on a home, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, and a second person was killed on Interstate 4 near Tampa when a sign fell on a car.

Five others died in Pinellas County, according to the sheriff.

Two were killed in North Carolina. In Charlotte, one person was killed when a tree fell on a house, according to the Mecklenburg EMS Agency, and another person died in a traffic accident in Catawba County, officials said.

Seventeen people have died in South Carolina, including two firefighters in Saluda County, Gov. Henry McMaster said.

One person has died in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. "We have sadly reported one fatality today from a storm-related treefall and building collapse and that was in Craig County," the governor said Friday night.

A public health emergency was declared in Georgia on Friday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said.

"We will do all we can to assist Georgia officials respond to the health impacts of Hurricane Helene," Becerra said. "We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support."

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response "has deployed teams to assist in a rapid combined federal and multi-state response to Hurricane Helene," said Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell. “We are on the ground and ready to support local health requests."

The HHS had declared an emergency for Florida on Thursday.

More than 4.6 million customers lost power across the South Friday in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

More than 1.2 million are without power in South Carolina and nearly 900,000 are without power in North Carolina.

Nearly 940,000 customers are without power in Georgia and nearly 760,000 are without power in Florida.

More than 50 health care facilities are operating on generator power across Florida, officials said.

Helene is now post-tropical and is no longer a depression, but its remnants continue to produce dangerous weather over portions of the southern Appalachians and Tennessee Valley, the National Weather Service said.

Flash flood emergencies remain in effect for western North Carolina and portions of Tennessee and Virginia.

A tornado watch remains in effect from eastern North Carolina to Virginia Beach back to Roanoke, Virginia. Several tornadoes have been reported on Friday.

The center of Helene is now over Kentucky with heavy rain and gusty winds across a large area from Missouri to Ohio to the Carolinas. Flash flooding and strong winds will continue through Friday night.

-ABC News' Melissa Griffin