Power outages and flooding
Around three million people were without power on Friday, houses were destroyed and entire towns were flooded. “Helene” made landfall in Florida on Thursday evening (local time) as a hurricane in the second highest category, has now weakened into a tropical storm and is moving further north over the Appalachians. “Helene” will continue to bring “life-threatening” and “extreme” rainfall and flooding, according to the weather service. Tornadoes must also be expected.
Many victims were killed or injured by fallen trees, while others died in their cars. According to CNN, a woman drowned in her home in Florida. In North Carolina, authorities warned that a dam could burst and urged residents to seek safety. Civil protection warned of landslides and mudslides as a result of the heavy rain. Numerous roads were washed out and are closed in the affected regions.
“Helene’s” destructive course
“Helene” made landfall in the Big Bend region of northern Florida late on Thursday evening (local time) as an “extremely dangerous hurricane” with wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour. US media reported that it was the strongest hurricane that had ever raged there. The authority subsequently downgraded the hurricane to a tropical storm – with sustained wind speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour. A further weakening was expected. The US government of President Joe Biden had 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 of Hurricane Ian
“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 100 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.
