Hurricane Helene: Florida Braces for Catastrophic Impact as Category 4 Storm Approaches
Officials in Florida are urgently pleading with residents to heed mandatory evacuation orders as Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 monster with sustained winds near 130 miles per hour, barrels towards the state’s Big Bend region, Al Jazeera reports.
The storm, which has already brought tropical storm conditions and claimed one life in Tampa, is predicted to make landfall around 11pm local time (3am GMT, Friday).
“EVERYONE along the Florida Big Bend coast is at risk of potentially catastrophic storm surge,” warns the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on social media. The NHC has declared Helene “extremely dangerous,” predicting a devastating surge of 15 to 20 feet above ground level – potentially reaching the top of a second-story building. “A really unsurvivable scenario is going to play out here,” said NHC director Mike Brennan.
The storm’s impact is already being felt across the state. Driving rain has flooded roadways, forced the closure of schools and airports, and left nearly 700,000 homes and businesses without power. Florida authorities have initiated bus evacuations from the Big Bend area, transporting residents to shelters in the state capital of Tallahassee.
The threat extends far beyond Florida. Over 55 million people across the US are under some form of weather alert from Hurricane Helene. States of emergency have been declared in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Alabama, as the NHC warns of potential power outages, downed trees, and intense flooding.
In the southern Appalachian mountains, the National Weather Service has issued a stark warning, predicting landslides and flooding not seen in over a century.
“This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era,” they stated.
Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach has noted that Helene is predicted to be larger than all but three Gulf hurricanes since 1988: Irma (2017), Wilma (2005), and Opal (1995). The scale and potential devastation of this storm are raising serious concerns for officials and residents alike.
