Hurricane Helene, which hit Florida on Thursday, September 26, caused at least 52 deaths, according to a provisional report from the AP press agency. It not only hit the coasts of Florida, relatively accustomed to this phenomenon, but also penetrated the south of the country, causing torrential rains in Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia.
Victims died from drowning, falling from trees, tornadoes and even car accidents. The storm continued into the weekend, flooding the Appalachian region, Tennessee, Kentucky and the Ohio plains. Three million people were without power on Saturday morning and the damage, according to initial estimates by Moody’s Analytics, ranged between $15 billion and $26 billion (or approximately €13.4 billion and €23.3 billion).
The hurricane took an unusual trajectory, heading north off the coast of Florida, towards the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, without encountering obstacles, which allowed it to fill with water and make landfall with Category 4 strength. a maximum of five and winds of up to 225 kilometers/hour. He avoided Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, at the last minute. This region is experiencing its third hurricane since August 2023. The storm then barreled toward the northern states, causing devastation.
Some residents stayed again.
In Florida, which has reported at least seven deaths, the victims are especially in Tampa Bay, where residents are increasingly reluctant to evacuate. During a previous hurricane, they had crossed the Florida peninsula from west to east as the cyclone’s path changed. Some residents of Tampa Bay, which had been submerged by rising waters in 2022, stayed back again, believing the eye of the storm was too far offshore to affect them.
However, the mandatory evacuation order – which in reality is not – was issued on Wednesday, more than twenty-four hours in advance, and meteorological services were predicting a rise in water levels of between 1.5 meters and 2.4 meters. meters.
This is due to the immense depression caused by the cyclone, sometimes after rain. Some residents have not moved: “They cried wolf too oftenhe told the Washington Post Steve Conser, 63, was stranded on Treasure Island Beach in the Tampa area on Friday after his home was flooded with 4 feet of water and two of his vehicles were destroyed. But this time I should have left. » Residents are left with homes that cannot be insured against flooding, but they return anyway.
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