The eye of the powerful Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall this Thursday on the northwest coast of Floridain the region known as Big Bend, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour (140 miles), reported the National Hurricane Center (NHC, in English) of the United States. Helene, the fifth hurricane of the Atlantic season, entered Florida at 11:10 a.m. local time (03:10 GMT Friday) east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 10 miles (15 km) west -southwest of Perry, as a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, with a maximum of 5, the NHC indicated in a special bulletin. The “very dangerous” Hurricane Helene is moving, dumping intense rain in its wake and threatening “catastrophic” storm surges and flooding.
FOLLOW THE PATH OF HURRICANE HELENE LIVE:
It is of great concern to meteorologists NHC the havoc that the storm surge “catastrophic and deadly” could occur along portions of Florida’s Big Bend coast, where “flooding could reach up to 20 feet (6 meters) above sea level, along with “destructive waves.”
Heavy rains caused by Hurricane Helene fall on the coastal town of Guanimar, in the province of Artemisa, southwest of Havana, Cuba. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP).
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Helene is producing catastrophic winds that will spread toward the coast in the Big Bend region of Florida during the next few hours.
“This is an extremely dangerous and potentially deadly situation,” the NHC.
For Florida, Helene’s storm surge could set a recordAccording to meteorologists, in some areas the sea will rise up to 4.5 meters above its average level, that is, almost two floors of a building, a mark not seen in this state.
LOOK: Florida in state of emergency due to the foreseeable arrival of Helene as a major hurricane
If you do not evacuate, identify your body
More than 30 Florida counties are under mandatory evacuation orders.
In the county of Taylorfor those who have not complied with them, their sheriff made a particular request: “Please write your name, date of birth and important information on your arm or leg with a PERMANENT MARKER so that he can be identified and his next of kin notified.”
The National Weather Service (N.W.S.in English) of the USA, has warned that in the Apalechee Baysouth of Tallahassee (the state capital), The storm surge will be “insurmountable.”
Florida schools and offices were closed todayand at least a thousand flights to or from this state were canceled, while the Tampa airport and other airfields have not operated today.
The path of Hurricane Helene. (NHC).
According to local media reports, in Tallahasseestudents from Florida State University and Florida A&M University who remained in their dormitories have been evacuated to shelters where they will remain until the end of the year. hurricane.
“There is going to be bad weather during the last part of the day here in the state of Florida,” the state governor warned today, Ron DeSantis, who has declared a state of emergency, as have his counterparts in Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.
Two people walk in the rain in Havana due to the effects of Hurricane Helene. (EFE/ Ernesto Mastrascusa).
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A huge and fast cyclone
Meteorologists have highlighted the dimensions of the cyclone, whose tropical storm-force winds extend up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) from its centeras well as its speed, which towards the afternoon today was moving towards the north-northeast at 37 kilometers per hour (23 miles).
Both features will expand the scope of the destructive effects of Helenewhich according to NHC could hit the ground with category 4.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said today that Helene may not be the strongest hurricane to ever hit this statewhere curfews have been imposed in some southern towns, but warned of the “potential for damage” carried by its winds and that it can cause throughout the state.
“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had.”The governor of this state said during a press conference, where some school districts have canceled classes on Friday.
In the west of North Carolina, Meteorologists warn of unprecedented rainfall in recent times, especially in locations such as Ashvillethat In the last two days there has already been heavy rain and those that are added now those that are thrown Helene.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, signed an emergency declaration for Georgia this Thursday, as days ago I did it in favor of Floridameasures that allow the sending of federal assistance, including emergency personnel and food, water and electrical generators.
On Thursday night, the focus will be on the Big Benda not very populated region where Helene is expected to make landfall, where Category 1 Hurricane Debby did last August and where Hurricane Idalia also entered in August 2023.
