September 27, 2024 – 05:24
Storm Helen approached Florida's northwest coast on Thursday, strengthening into a Category 4 hurricane, and local authorities warned residents of the potential for severe damage and a life-threatening situation, MTI reported.
According to local time, Hurricane Helen approached the coast in the evening with wind gusts of 200 kilometers per hour, then made landfall at 11:10 at night. At landing, maximum wind speed was estimated at 140 mph (225 km/h) and minimum pressure was 930 mbar, according to meteorological reports. BBC.
The center of the storm is expected to pass near Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, and then north. The highest level of alert has been put in place in the affected northwestern provinces.
The US National Hurricane Center expects “unsurvivable” marine flooding along the entire western coast of the affected peninsula, with masses of water reaching a height of 6 meters in some places. As the storm reached Florida, more and more families were without power, and by nightfall, more than 900,000 families were without power.
It may be the strongest hurricane of this year's hurricane season in Northwest Florida historically. The area of Storm Helen is expected to move toward Georgia, then south and North Carolina, with heavy rains and hurricane-force winds.
