Florida State Braces for Hurricane Helene and its residents are anticipating the worst, including one Quebecer who spent the last two days preparing.
• Also read: The storm Helen heading towards Florida becomes a hurricane
• Also read: Possible Major Hurricane Heading For Florida
Charles St-Maurice lives in Tampa, a city in Florida that is near the hurricane’s path.
“It will pass about 160 km to the west of us in the Gulf (of Mexico) and it is still very close to us for a category 3 hurricane, so we expect very strong winds,” he explained in an interview with LCN.
Thousands of residents began evacuating the coast of Florida in the southeastern United States on Wednesday.
Photo AFP / GETTY IMAGES
In Pinellas County, where Mr. St-Maurice resides, those occupying mobile homes, whether near water or not, must evacuate as soon as possible.
“It’s serious,” he said.
The man was scheduled to fly out Thursday to see his children, but the Tampa airport will be closed from 5 a.m. Thursday morning until Friday morning.
“For us it’s not so bad, but it won’t be easy,” he stressed.
Northwest Florida will be hit particularly hard by the hurricane, just weeks after the passage of Debby“It’s going to be difficult for these people to live with,” Mr. St-Maurice said.
Preparing for the worst
To prepare, the man set aside water supplies in case power outages knocked out sewage treatment plants. He made sure to keep inside or tie down any objects that could blow away in the gusts.
Photo AFP
Mr. St-Maurice also stocked up on canned and tinned food.
He also has a generator. “If we lose electricity, it can be for days and days and at that time, the fridge doesn’t work, the cooking doesn’t work, so it allows us to continue living,” he said.
The man’s home is insured by obligation since he has a mortgage. “It’s pretty expensive, but it’s not too bad because I’m not in an area that’s at high risk for hurricanes and I’m not in an area that’s prone to flooding,” he added.
The Hurricane Helenewhich has been a Category 1 hurricane since Wednesday, has just left Mexico, according to satellite data from Zoom Earth. It will begin to affect Florida’s weather Thursday morning, when it strengthens into a Category 3 hurricane, before hitting the Carrabelle area in the northwest part of the state around 8 p.m. Thursday.
To watch the full interview, click on the video above.
