Hurricane Helen hits Florida and kills three people – North America

At least three people died when Hurricane Helen made landfall in Florida at Category 4 strength, but then lost strength and was downgraded to Category 2. The National Hurricane Center announced the hurricane's landfall, calling the disturbance “extremely dangerous.” “Based on NWS Doppler radar data, Eye Helen made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend area of ​​Florida at 11:10 PM local time (5:10 AM Italian time), just east of the mouth of the Oscilla River,” we read in statement.

The police warned that “whoever decides not to evacuate must write his name on his legs or arms to identify him,” explaining that this measure will help the authorities “facilitate the identification of bodies.” Authorities in the city of Tampa, Florida, appealed to residents “not to leave their homes” due to the passage of Category 4 Hurricane Helen: “Do not try to defy Mother Nature, you will lose 100%.”

The mouth of the Ocilla River is located about 40 km southeast of the state capital, Tallahassee, which has a population of about 200,000 people. With winds reaching speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour, the hurricane caused heavy rains and sea levels could rise by six meters in some places on the coast. Mike Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, warned that it was an “unsurvivable scenario” and would be accompanied by “devastating” waves that could sweep away homes and move cars. However, the wind gradually lost its intensity, as its speed decreased to about 150-160 kilometers per hour.

Due to falling trees, authorities expect widespread power outages: Thursday evening, about 1 million Florida homes were without power, according to poweroutage.us. US President Joe Biden “urged” residents to pay attention to “evacuation calls” issued by the authorities: “Take this seriously and be careful,” explaining that “we expect a catastrophic storm, winds, and floods throughout the southeast, starting in the southeast.” In Florida now.”

Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed that all measures to immediately respond to the consequences of the hurricane were “in place” but urged residents of the most vulnerable areas to evacuate.

The wind speed coming from Helen, one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the Gulf of Mexico in the last century, reached 250 kilometers per hour. At least 320,000 households were left without power in Florida due to the arrival of Hurricane Helen. The Sunshine State isn't the only one affected by the Category 4 phenomenon, according to PowerOutage.us, more than 12,500 homes are in the dark in Georgia and another 15,500 residents are experiencing power outages in North Carolina. Problems are also in South Carolina where more than 2,200 households have been affected by intermittent power outages.

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