Florida Braces for Chaos: Hurricane Helene Unleashes Fury in Destructive Landfall

Mariana BUTNARIU (gds.ro)

More than a million people were without power as Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region. Thousands of people were evacuated as authorities warned of a “nightmare” storm surge scenario. “Extremely dangerous” Hurricane Helene made landfall in the US state of Florida on Thursday, with officials warning of “unsurvivable” conditions and a potentially catastrophic storm surge large enough to engulf a two-story house.

More than a million people were without power and roads were already flooded ahead of what is expected to be one of the biggest Gulf of Mexico storms in decades.

The fast-moving Helene became an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane on Thursday, with the eye making landfall near Perry around 11:10 pm local time (0310 GMT Friday), the National Hurricane Center said. United States.

Winds were gusting to 145 miles per hour as it swept over the warm waters of the Gulf and began pounding the Big Bend area south of Tallahassee. “Everyone along Florida’s Big Bend coast is at risk of a potentially catastrophic storm,” the NHC said on social media.

Airports in Tampa and Tallahassee closed. Parts of St. Petersburg, downtown Tampa, Sarasota, Treasure Island and other cities on Florida’s west coast are already flooded.
About 1,036,553 homes and businesses were without power, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us.
“We expect to see 15 to 20 feet of flooding above ground level,” said NHC director Mike Brennan. “This is up to level 2 of a block. Once again, an unsurvivable scenario is going to happen here on this part of the Florida coast.” The associated waves “can destroy houses, move cars, and the water level will rise very quickly,” Brennan added.

Evacuation warnings

US President Joe Biden asked people to heed official evacuation warnings.
“I encourage everyone in and around Helene’s path to listen to local officials and follow evacuation warnings,” he said. “Take this seriously and be safe.” Authorities in Florida’s Taylor County asked residents who failed to act on mandatory evacuation warnings to write their names on their bodies with a permanent marker to help identify whether they were killed.

In Alligator Point, a coastal town in the path of the storm, David Wesolowski is not risking his life. “I came to do a few things before the storm came,” said the 37-year-old real estate agent as he raised his house on stilts. “If he stays the course, this will look different after that, that’s for sure,” he said.

Some Americans refuse to leave

Patrick Riickert refused to leave his small log house in Crawfordville, a town of 5,000 a few miles inland. The majority of residents fled, but Riickert, his wife and five grandchildren “were not going anywhere,” the 58-year-old insisted.
It’s time to “buckle up” and ride out the hurricane, just as it did in 2018 when the deadly Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 mega storm, blew through the Florida area. At a gas station in Panacea, John Luper said he was left reluctantly as his mother and brother refused to flee to higher ground. “They won’t go,” he said, filling the cans with fuel. I’m stuck with them”.

The National Weather Service said the area could be hit very hard, with flooding not seen in more than a century.
“This will be one of the most significant weather events to occur in the western parts of the area in modern times,” he warned.
Tornado warnings were issued for northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
More than 55 million Americans have been under some type of weather watch or warning since Hurricane Helene. “Multi-State Incident”
“This will be a multi-state event with the potential for significant impacts from Florida to Tennessee,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Helene, the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in over a year

The White House is monitoring weather developments, Vice President Kamala Harris said.
“The president and I are, of course, monitoring the case and the situation closely. We urge everyone watching right now to take this storm very seriously,” he told reporters.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deployed the National Guard and ordered thousands of personnel to prepare for search and rescue operations. He warned that the powerful storm would be dangerous and urged everyone to take precautions, back France 24.
“We cannot control how strong this hurricane will become. We can’t control the path of the hurricane, but what you can control is what you can do to give yourself the best chance of getting through it. in a way that will be safe,” DeSantis said.
Helene could become the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in over a year – and almost certainly the largest, with a length of nearly 500 miles.

Scientists say climate change is likely to play a role in the rapid intensification of hurricanes because warmer oceans have more energy to feed off.