By Deutsche Welle (World News) | Created at 2024-09-27 04:11:07 | Updated at 2024-09-30 07:32:04
3 days ago
The US state of Florida had been bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 hurricane that is expected to be one of the largest in weather systems in decades.
The National Hurricane Center said in a post on X: "Helene has made landfall in the Florida Big Bend region at around 11:10 p.m. EDT just E of the mouth of the Aucilla River."
"EVERYONE along the Florida Big Bend coast is at risk of potentially catastrophic storm surge," the NHC warned on social media.
Weather officials forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly "catastrophic and unsurvivable" in Florida's Apalachee Bay.
Helene was packing winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour as it churned over the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico towards the Big Bend area south of Tallahassee.
Hundreds of thousands of people are without power and roads have been flooded in some parts with states of emergency being declared in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia and Alabama.
Hurricane Helene has been churning through the Gulf of Mexico has prompted governors to declare states of emergency in a number of statesImage: NOAA/AP/picture allianceMore to follow...
kb/rc (AFP, AP)
