Heavy rain flooded roads and closed airports in Florida as Hurricane Helen headed toward the state’s Panhandle region, threatening potentially deadly storm surge along much of the coastline.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm became a major Category 4 hurricane on Thursday with winds of 130 mph (209 kph), and was expected to continue increasing in strength. Florida officials said Helen was forecast to make landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida around 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT Friday).
Officials urged residents in the storm’s path to heed mandatory evacuation orders or face life-threatening situations. Michael Brennan, the center’s director, said Helen’s surge — a wall of seawater pushed onto land by hurricane-force winds — could rise as much as 20 feet (6.1 meters) in some places, as high as a two-story house. A video briefing.
“There’s going to be a really catastrophic scenario in the coastal area,” Brennan said, with water capable of destroying buildings and pushing cars inland.
As of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), the storm was about 130 miles (209 km) west of Tampa, Florida, the center said.
Heavy rainstorms were lashing parts of coastal Florida, and rain had already fallen across parts of Georgia, South Carolina, central and western North Carolina, and Tennessee. Atlanta, hundreds of miles north of Big Bend, Florida, was under a tropical storm warning.
In Pinellas County, which is located on a peninsula bordered by Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, roads were flooded before noon. Officials warned that the storm’s impact could be as severe as last year’s Hurricane Idalia, which flooded 1,500 homes in low-lying coastal counties.
Video posted on the county’s social media site showed water rising over some muddy roads and boat piers along the coast.
Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and St. Petersburg suspended all operations Thursday.
Governor Ron DeSantis warned North Florida residents to flee before time runs out.
“You have time to seek shelter, but you have to do it now,” he said at a news briefing. “Every minute that passes brings us closer to situations that are going to be very dangerous to deal with.”
Helene is expected to remain a full-fledged hurricane as it passes through the Macon, Georgia area on Friday, forecasters said. It could drop 12 inches (30.5 cm) or more of rain, potentially destroying the state’s cotton and pecan crops, which are in the middle of the harvest season.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said, “The current forecast for Hurricane Helene shows that this storm will impact every part of our state.”
After hitting the Florida coast, Helene is expected to move more slowly into the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday, the NHC said.
water wall
Storm height is forecast to reach 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6.1 m) in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Panhandle region, where the storm is expected to come ashore.
Multiple evacuations were ordered along Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Sarasota and Charlotte counties.
Pinellas County officials ordered the evacuation of long-term health facilities near the coast, including nursing homes, assisted living centers and hospitals.
Everyone ignored the evacuation orders. In coastal Dunedin, Florida, about 25 miles west of Tampa, state ferry boat operator Ken Wood, 58, planned to ride out the storm with his 16-year-old cat, Andy.
“We’ve got the orders, but I’m going to stay right here at home,” Wood told Reuters by telephone. “It looks like the storm will be a little west of us, but who knows? I’m sure it will be interesting to say the least.”
Tallahassee officials expressed concern that the storm could cause unprecedented damage.
Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re said initial private insurance losses could reach US$3 billion to US$6 billion, with additional losses to federal insurance programs potentially reaching $1 billion.
Energy facilities on the US Gulf Coast reduced operations and evacuated some generation sites.
Dean Creswell, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said at a White House briefing that she would travel to Florida on Friday to assess the damage.
The hurricane center said Helene was expected to drop up to 15 inches (38.1 cm) of rain in isolated locations after making landfall in Florida, which could lead to significant flooding and urban flooding.
Jamie Rome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, said about half of the lives lost in storms usually result from flash flooding caused by torrential rains, often among people who drive on flooded roads and are swept away.
Rome said the impact area of expected hurricane-force winds extends about 180 miles (290 km) north from the Florida Panhandle to southern Georgia.
“You need to be prepared for long-term (energy) outages. Those trees will fall in high winds, roads will be blocked,” Rome said.