Florida residents are already evacuating and filling sandbags days before the storm hits Tropical Storm Helenewhich is expected to rapidly intensify and turn into a hurricane.
Helen formed in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, is expected to cross the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall as early as Thursday evening. Hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of Cuba, Mexico and parts of coastal Florida, including Tampa Bay. A tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the Florida Keys.
Official projections from the National Hurricane Center predict that Helene will become a Category 3 devastating hurricane with peak sustained winds of 115 mph at landfall.
On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded a state of emergency to 61 counties. The state also issued voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders in 13 counties.
Federal authorities are positioning generators, food and water, as well as search and rescue and power restoration teams, as President Joe Biden also declared a state of emergency in Florida.
The storm is expected to be unusually large and fast-moving, meaning storm surge, wind and rain will likely extend far from the storm’s center, the hurricane center said. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency. And states as far away as Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana could see precipitation.
Hal Summers, a restaurant worker in Mexico Beach, Florida, didn’t need to be reminded after narrowly surviving Hurricane Michael in 2018. DeSantis said Helene is reminiscent of that Category 5 hurricane, which quickly intensified and caught residents off guard before carving a destructive path across the western Florida Panhandle.
When the storm hit, Summers was wading with her cat in her arms as the waters began to rise rapidly around her parents’ house. Their home and hers were destroyed.
“It was such a traumatic experience that this is not the place I needed to be for myself,” he said Tuesday as he and a friend were evacuated to Marianna, a town further inland.
Many areas are expected to experience dangerous storm surges, particularly between Panama City and TampaThe coast from the Ochlockonee River to Chassahowitzka could see 10 to 15 feet of water. Nearby areas could see 5 to 10 feet of water, and the Tampa Bay area is expected to see 5 to 8 feet of storm surge.
The Florida Keys could experience a storm surge of between 12 and 36 inches.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management’s “Know Your Zone” map allows residents to enter their address and know their evacuation route in the event of a flood or other disaster.
