Hurricane Helene, court “extremely dangerous”It made landfall late in the day, Thursday, September 26, in Florida, raising concerns about impending flooding. “destructive”.
As it approached the third most populous state in the United States, the storm strengthened during the day and eventually became a hurricane. “important” Category 4 on a scale of 5, with winds blowing at 215 kilometers per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The hurricane made landfall in northwest Florida, near the state capital, Tallahassee, a city of about 200,000 people. In this area, “No one has seen a storm of this magnitude in recent times”Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Thursday morning. He warned of falling trees to residents who did not evacuate.
Risk of marine immersion
Much of Florida’s west coast was already experiencing heavy rain. Many residents fled the area after boarding up the windows of their homes, and most businesses closed, Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists found on the spot.
The risk of marine immersion is of particular concern to the authorities, with an increase in the water level that could reach six meters in some areas of the coast, the height of a two-story building. This is a “unbeatable scenery”that will be accompanied by waves “destructive” capable of sweeping houses and moving cars, warned Mike Brennan, director of the NHC.
The winds, which could also be “catastrophic” According to this agency, it will also affect the interior. Due to falling trees, authorities expect widespread power outages. When the hurricane made landfall, more than 750,000 customers were without power in Florida, according to the website Poweroutage.us.
One of the largest hurricanes of the century.
Hélène’s particularity is to be particularly extensive. Its actual size “one of the largest hurricanes to hit the Gulf of Mexico this century”noted expert Michael Lowry. Therefore, its impact will be felt in a very wide area. A state of emergency has been imposed in almost all of Florida’s sixty-seven counties.
As of Wednesday, thousands of residents had begun evacuating the coasts. The authorities have created a collaboration with the Uber service to transport residents under evacuation orders to shelters for free. About 3,500 National Guard troops have been mobilized and an additional 2,000 can reinforce the ranks if necessary, DeSantis said. Hundreds more are on deck, including within the Department of Transportation.
Several airports, including Tallahassee and Tampa further south, are closed. Beyond Florida, the states of Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina will also suffer the effects of the hurricane, including the large city of Atlanta. Tens of millions of Americans are under weather alerts.
Inland, authorities fear flash flooding linked to heavy rain, as well as possible mudslides or mudslides, particularly in the Appalachian Mountains. “This will be one of the most important Western weather phenomena of modern times” of South Carolina, alerted the meteorological services of this state. “We urge you to take all alerts seriously”.
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Although several hurricanes have already hit the United States this year, including Béryl and Debby, when they made landfall they were less powerful than Hélène. The US Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency (NOAA) had warned that the season promised to be particularly turbulent this year, particularly due to the heat of the oceans, which fuels these meteorological phenomena. By warming ocean waters, climate change makes rapid intensification of storms more likely and increases the risk of more powerful hurricanes, scientists say.
