The storm Helene It lost intensity this Friday, hours after making landfall in Floridaprogressively dropping from a Category 4 hurricane to a tropical storm, according to the US Hurricane Center (NHC) as it heads into the state of Georgia. So far three deaths have been recorded as a result of the storm.
“Helene weakens to tropical storm asmoves into Georgia. Danger to life: storm surge, winds and heavy rain continues“, noted the NHC in the latest update on the storm.
“Extremely dangerous”
When it made landfall, the hurricane I had category 4 out of a total of 5 and was described as “extremely dangerous” by the US meteorological services. The storm reached the so-called Big Bend, a forested region in the northwest of the state, shortly before 11:30 a.m. local timeindicated the NHC.
Upon arrival, the wind reached 140 mph near the city of Perryof about 7,000 inhabitants. “ENTIRE coast of Big Bend de Florida is at risk of potentially catastrophic storm surge,” the NHC warned on social media.
In the first moments after the passage of Helenealmost a million homes and businesses They lost power, the website said. PowerOutage.usspecialized in signaling blackouts. At the time of writing this news, the number of affected It was already 1,297,061 in Florida and 564,744 in Georgia. Besides, at least 133,675 users In South Carolina they are also without power.
The N.H.C. warned of up to 51 centimeters of rain in isolated points of the interior and life-threatening floods, as well as “numerous” landslidesin the southern Appalachians.
Various states are on the potential route and they are already suffering strong winds and heavy rains. Flooding in cities around Tampa Bay left roads impassableaccording to local media. He Tornado risk was increasing in northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Most of Georgia, which like Florida is under a state of emergencywas put on flood alert, while Tennessee prepared for tropical storm conditions throughout the state.
“An event that will affect several states and could have a significant impact”
“This will be an event that will affect several states and that could have a significant impact“said the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, to reporters at the White House, after briefing the president Joe Biden about the situation. “He president wants to make sure for everyone to pay attention to the potential life-threatening impacts of this storm,” he said.
DeSantis mobilized the National Guard and thousands of people for possible search and rescue operations and power restoration.
“We cannot control the trajectory of the hurricane, but what you can control is what you can do to give yourself the best chance of get out of this in a way that is safe“said the governor.
A strip of costa 402 km, from Tampa Bay to Panama Cityis on alert due to the hurricane.
