“Helene” made landfall on the west coast of the US state of Florida as a second-highest category hurricane and then weakened. The cyclone remains dangerous, the national hurricane center warned yesterday. Initial reports indicate that at least three people died as a result of the storm. On Friday, “Helene” reportedly moved further into the neighboring state of Georgia and was downgraded to a tropical storm.
According to the authorities, there is still a threat of destructive winds, meter-high storm surges and heavy rain. The hurricane center warned of life-threatening flooding, as well as tornadoes. More than two million homes on the East Coast were without power overnight, the website Poweroutage.us reported.
The sheriff of Taylor County in Florida drew dramatic attention to the dangers of the hurricane. He first asked all residents and guests via Facebook not to return to the danger zone: a premature return would entail “significant risks”. He advised people who chose not to evacuate to write their names and date of birth on their arms or legs so they could be identified later.
“Extremely dangerous hurricane”
“Helene” made landfall in the Big Bend region of northern Florida on Friday night as an “extremely dangerous hurricane” with wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour. The media reported that it was the strongest hurricane that had ever struck there. The authority subsequently downgraded the hurricane to a tropical storm – with sustained wind speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour. The US government declared a state of emergency in several states.
In the past few days, “Helene” has already caused numerous floods and power outages in Cuba. Severe flooding cut off several towns on the Caribbean island from the outside world.
Dark memories awakened
“Helene” is likely to bring back dark memories for many people in Florida. Two years ago, Hurricane “Ian” caused enormous damage there, killing more than a hundred people. At that time, the center of the storm moved over densely populated areas in the southwest of the state and swept over coastal cities with wind speeds of around 240 kilometers per hour.
Tropical cyclones form over warm ocean water. According to experts, increasing global warming is increasing the likelihood of strong storms. Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins on June 1st and lasts until November 30th.
