This Thursday, September 26, there is an alert in Florida, United Statesby the passage of Hurricane Helenewhich has been rated as “huge, fast and very dangerous.”
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The heavy rains and winds from Hurricane Helene, which reached Category 4 this Thursday, have already flooded parts of Florida and They have left more than 200,000 homes and offices in this state, as well as Georgia and North Carolina, without power.
The hurricane has strengthened in recent hours and, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC, in English), it is heading towards the west coast of Florida with maximum winds of 215 kilometers per hour (130 miles), that is, like a major hurricane (category 3, 4 or 5).
Helene is expected to make landfall tonight in northwest Florida, in the Big Bend region, however its effects have already begun to be felt on the Gulf of Mexico coast of this state.
The American media are beginning to broadcast the first images of the strong winds and high tide in coastal areas of this southern US state, while streets in Tampa Bay are already registering flooding due to the rains, which could become up to 50 centimeters in certain areas.
Likewise, more than 173,000 homes and offices on the west coast of Florida are without electricity this afternoon after the impacts of the outer bands of the hurricane, according to the specialized website PowerOutages.
For Florida, the storm surge that Helene brings with it could set a record: according 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 record not seen in this state.
🌀This is how we roll in Florida for hurricane preparedness.
▪️DeSantis has literal ‘cities’ of linemen ready to restore power as soon as Helene passes.
⛑️These Linemen are literally the first responders after the storm and we are so grateful for all they do. pic.twitter.com/HuIIwovLBn— Still🏝️Roaming (@roaming_rn) September 26, 2024
The system is located 205 kilometers (130 miles) west of Tampa, on the west-central coast of Florida, and 280 kilometers (175 miles) south of Tallahassee, the state capital.
They prepare in Florida for Helene’s arrival
Helene, which is one of nine named systems in the current Atlantic hurricane season, threatens strong winds, a “catastrophic” storm surge and flooding to a wide Florida coastal strip facing the Gulf of Mexico.
The system is moving rapidly at 37 kilometers per hour (23 miles) in a north-northeast direction and NHC forecasters expect it to make landfall tonight in northwest Florida, in the Big Bend.
NHC meteorologists, based in Miami, warned of the risk involved this hurricane for human lives due not only to its strong winds but also due to “the rising water“.
Once it makes landfall, “weakening” is expected, but Helene’s rapid forward speed will allow its “strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States,” including over the highest terrain in the southern Appalachians, the NHC warned.
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*With information from EFE
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