The storm Helen rapidly intensified this morning to become a Category 1 hurricane near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as it heads toward Florida, making it the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in more than a year.
• Also read: Possible Major Hurricane Heading For Florida
Thousands of residents began evacuating the coast of Florida in the southeastern United States on Wednesday.
The tropical storm Helen strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as it moved toward the southeastern United States, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The hurricane is expected to become a “major hurricane” and could notably cause “strong winds and torrential rains over a large part of Florida and the southeastern United States,” the organization specified in its latest bulletin.
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It could hit Florida on Thursday evening as a Category 3 or even 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale (which has 5), according to local authorities in the state of Florida.
State Governor Ron DeSantis has imposed a state of emergency in nearly every county in Florida’s 67 counties.
It also mobilized the National Guard and thousands of personnel in preparation for possible search and rescue operations, restoring power and clearing roads.
Ten Florida counties have announced mandatory partial evacuation orders, while two have required all residents to evacuate.
Ron DeSantis said at least 12 health care facilities, from hospitals to nursing homes, have already begun evacuating and more are expected to follow.
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“Regulars”
“You’re going to feel the impacts of this storm (…) across the entire Florida peninsula,” the governor said at a press conference.
Near Tampa, long lines of cars were seen at many locations where sand was being distributed to fill bags for protection.
“We’re used to it,” said Lorraine Major, a 44-year-old teacher who has lived in Florida her entire life, referring to the multiple storms and hurricanes that hit the state each year.
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“But in recent years, hurricanes have become really, really severe,” she said.
If predictions about Helene are confirmed, it would be the first hurricane of this magnitude to hit the United States in more than a year.
The last time a hurricane this powerful hit was in August 2023, when Idalia hit northeastern Florida.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from May 1er June to November 30, was less intense than expected.
But scientists say climate change, by warming ocean waters, is making it more likely that storms will intensify rapidly and increasing the risk of more powerful hurricanes.
