‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane ‘Helene’ makes landfall in Florida

People fill sandbags at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex for possible flooding ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Helene in Clearwater, Florida, on September 25, 2024. --Ricardo ARDUENGO / AFP

ALLIGATOR POINT, FLORIDA—The “extremely dangerous” Hurricane “Helene” made landfall in the US state of Florida on Thursday, with officials warning of “unsurvivable” conditions and a potentially catastrophic storm surge high enough to swamp a two-story house.

More than a million people were without power and roads were already flooded ahead of what is expected to be one of the largest Gulf of Mexico storms in decades.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Florida, on September 26, 2024 as Hurricane Helene was set to slam into the Florida coast as a “catastrophic” Category 4 storm. An increasingly powerful hurricane threatening “catastrophic,” dangerous storm surges and flooding was forecast to hit Florida’s Gulf coast on September 26, as thousands of residents evacuated towns along the US state’s shoreline. Helene strengthened into a hurricane mid-morning September 25 in the Gulf of Mexico and is “expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains to a large portion of Florida and the Southeastern United States,” the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its latest bulletin. –Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP

Fast-moving Helene strengthened to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane Thursday, with the eye hitting near the town of Perry at approximately 11:10 p.m. local time (0310 GMT Friday), the US National Hurricane Center said.

It was packing winds of 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour as it passed over the Gulf’s warm waters and began hitting the Big Bend area south of Tallahassee.

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 25: Workers place plywood over the windows of a business before the arrival of Hurricane Helene on September 25, 2024, in Port Richey, Florida. Hurricane Helene is forecast to become a major hurricane, bringing the potential for deadly storm surges, flooding rain, and destructive hurricane-force winds along parts of the Florida West Coast. Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida on Thursday. –Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

“EVERYONE along the Florida Big Bend coast is at risk of potentially catastrophic storm surge,” the NHC said on social media.

Tampa and Tallahassee airports have closed, with parts of St. Petersburg, downtown Tampa, Sarasota, Treasure Island and other cities on Florida’s west coast already flooded.

Widespread outage

About 1,036,553 homes and businesses were without power, according to tracking site PowerOutage.us.

“We’re expecting to see a storm surge inundation of 15 to 20 feet above ground level,” NHC director Mike Brennan said. “That’s up to the top of a second story building. Again, a really unsurvivable scenario is going to play out here in this portion of the Florida coastline.”

The accompanying waves “can destroy houses, move cars, and that water level is going to rise very quickly,” Brennan added.

US President Joe Biden urged people to heed official evacuation warnings.

Sandbags block the entrance to a store to prevent flood waters from entering the building as preparations are made for the arrival of Hurricane Helene, in Steinhatchee, Florida, on September 25, 2024. Thousands of residents on Wednesday began evacuating parts of coastal Florida as the US state braces for Hurricane Helene, forecast to barrel ashore as a powerful, potentially deadly storm. Helene strengthened into a hurricane mid-morning in the Gulf of Mexico and is “expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains to a large portion of Florida and the Southeastern United States,” the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its latest bulletin. –Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP

“I urge everyone in and near the path of Helene to listen to local officials and follow evacuation warnings,” he said. “Take this seriously, and be safe.”

Bodies pretagged

Authorities in Florida’s Taylor County asked residents who did not act on mandatory evacuation warnings to write their names on their bodies with permanent marker, to aid in identification if they are killed.

In Alligator Point, a coastal town on a picturesque peninsula in the storm’s path, David Wesolowski was taking no chances.

“I just came to button up a few things before it gets too windy,” the 37-year-old real estate agent told AFP as he boarded up his house on stilts.

“If it stays on course, this is going to look different afterwards, that’s for sure,” he said.

CRAWFORDVILLE, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 26: National Guardsman prepares a truck for storm response on September 26, 2024 in Crawfordville, Florida. Hurricane Helene is forecasted to make landfall nearby along the Gulf Coast this evening. –Sean Rayford/Getty Images/AFP

Patrick Riickert refused to budge from his small wooden house in Crawfordville, a town of 5,000 people a few miles inland.

Most residents have bolted, but Riickert, his wife and five grandchildren were “not going anywhere,” the 58-year-old insisted.

“I am going to hunker down” and ride out the hurricane, as he did in 2018 when deadly Hurricane “Michael,” a Category 5 mega storm, blew through the Florida panhandle.

A man uses his phone as waves crash againstthe shoreline ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Helene in Cedar Key, Florida, on September 26, 2024. Parts of Florida face “unsurvivable” conditions when Hurricane Helene hits later Thursday, the US weather service said, warning that howling wind will drive destructive waves and storm surge as high as 20 feet (six meters) onto the low-lying coast. Residents heeded mass evacuation orders and fled ahead of the incoming hurricane — projected to be one of the largest Gulf of Mexico storms in decades. –Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP

The NHC warned of up to 20 inches (51 cm) of rain in some spots and potentially life-threatening flooding, as well as numerous landslides across the southern Appalachians.

The National Weather Service said the region could be hit extremely hard, with floods not seen in more than a century.

“This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era,” it warned.