Much of MacDill Air Force Base in Florida was without power Friday morning and low-lying areas were flooded after Hurricane Helene blew through the state overnight.
But Tyndall Air Force Base — which six years ago was devastated by a previous hurricane — appears to have suffered no major damage.
MacDill said in a social media posts that its hurricane recovery team is still assessing damage to the base and trying to restore power, and the base remains closed.
The storm surge that hit MacDill — located near Tampa and the home of U.S. Central Command’s headquarters — was significant, and near the area’s record for water levels, the base said. Roads are also strewn with debris.
The base posted a photo of a flooded sports complex online Friday morning, and later said in a follow-up comment that waters had receded and the situation had improved.
Helene slammed into northwestern Florida late Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. It has since weakened and become a tropical storm over Georgia as it moved up through the southeast.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said at least 11 people in the state had died, and dozens more were trapped in homes, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said two people there had died as a result of the storm so far.
Moody Air Force Base in Georgia also reported downed trees, power lines, and debris after the storm passed. The base said in a social media post Friday morning that first responders and recovery crews are assessing the damage and clearing streets, and that people should remain sheltered in place for now.
Tyndall, located in Florida’s panhandle, on Friday resumed normal operations following Helene, and reported no major damage so far.
In a post on social media, Tyndall said damage assessments are still under way, but that the base has dodged the worst of the storm.
As Helene bore down on Florida in recent days, Tyndall evacuated the 325th Fighter Wing’s F-35A fighter jets. A limited evacuation of personnel in nearby counties that were likeliest to be hit by the hurricane was also ordered.
Commenters on Tyndall’s Facebook page expressed relief that this hurricane was not a repeat of 2018′s Hurricane Michael, which devastated Tyndall and damaged about 17 F-22 Raptors.
That storm forced 11,000 airmen and their families to evacuate from Tyndall to bases in Virginia, Alaska and Hawaii, and Tyndall’s recovery was a hard process spanning years.
Eglin Air Force Base, which is located further west of Tyndall, also moved to a mission-essential posture Thursday and closed its schools Friday.
Eglin began storing its aircraft in large hangars on base earlier this week. Photographs posted online showed F-15s, F-16s, and C-130s sheltering from the storm in the base’s massive King Hangar.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
