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Six dead as Hurricane Helene hits Florida with ‘unsurvivable’ waves

The hurricane slashed through fragile communities as it made landfall with sustained winds of up to 140mph and waves of up to 20ft

The reported death toll from Hurricane Helene has climbed to six, hours after the storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region, slashing through already fragile communities with sustained winds of up to 140mph and an “unsurvivable” storm surge of 20ft.

The 400-mile wide hurricane made landfall as a Category 4 storm at 11.10pm EST Thursday just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River — ten miles from the town of Perry, which has now been hit by three major storms in 13 months.

Fuelled by elevated ocean temperatures, the storm is one of the most powerful in a century and has created the “worst case scenario”, said Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

 

 
 
 
A man rides a handmade raft through a flooded street in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba
A man rides a handmade raft through a flooded street in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba
YAMIL LAGE/AFP
 
 

“Unless people live in a two-storey home, they can’t escape it vertically. If they try to leave a home in those conditions, the water is not just coming up gently — it’s coming up with great force, huge waves on them. There’s debris in the water. It’s just not a survivable situation.”

The first fatality was reported in Tallahassee after a road sign fell on a car. In Georgia two people were killed when a tornado hit their mobile home.

In North Carolina a four-year-old girl was one of two people killed in a storm-related vehicle crash. A third person in the state was killed when a tree fell on a house.

Helene, which weakened as it crossed the coastline, was expected to create “historic” inland flooding and tornados through states including Georgia, North and South Carolina. “We’re probably going to lose a lot of lives in this set-up, with this much flooding potential,” Rhome said.

The US air force’s hurricane hunter squadron, which flew crewed missions through Helene’s eye and launched drones to gather more data, recorded wind gusts of up to 158mph and 5,300 lightning flashes in one hour.

 

Flooding also affected St Pete Beach in Florida with the likelihood of worse to come
Flooding also affected St Pete Beach in Florida with the likelihood of worse to come
JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES
 
 

Ocean buoys recorded waves between up to 38ft (11.5m) offshore as Helene roared across the Gulf of Mexico, pushing a wall of water in front of it.

Along the west coast of the Florida peninsula, town after town was inundated with sea surges that flooded homes and submerged cars and street signs. In Steinhatchee houses were washed off their slabs and jumbled together in the floodwater.

In St Petersburg fish swam in the streets, waves broke doors and rushed into living rooms. Flashes and showers of sparks from exploding power transformers lit the night sky orange.

 

A capsized boat washes ashore in St Petersburg, Florida
A capsized boat washes ashore in St Petersburg, Florida
JOE READLE/GETTY IMAGES
 

Around Tampa Bay, water levels reached their highest since records began 80 years ago.

One Tampa resident ran a broadcast on social media from a purple canoe floating in his flooded living room, surrounded by debris. “The water is smashing up against the window; when I open it, it gets really choppy in here and it’s still coming in through the garage,” he reported.

At Fort Myers Beach, where the waterfront was ravaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, homes that had recently been rebuilt were submerged by the water. Sheriff’s deputies deployed swamp buggies to rescue stranded residents. Officers from the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission deployed airboats, flat-hulled motorboats and all-terrain vehicles.

 

Marine deputies prepare for a rescue as Hurricane Helene approaches in Fort Myers Beach
Marine deputies prepare for a rescue as Hurricane Helene approaches in Fort Myers Beach
REUTERS
 

The impact extended hundreds of miles from the storm’s eye as Helene enveloped the entire southeast of the US. By Friday morning three million customers were without power in five states. Utility companies said they expected significant damage to the electricity infrastructure in the impact zone; thousands of electricity restoration workers were ready to move in.

The National Weather Service stated that parts of Asheville, North Carolina, would experience the worst flooding since 1916 as rainfall accumulated, rivers burst their banks and saturated soil gave way. “Many landslides will occur as a result and severely damaging slope failures or debris flows are likely,” it predicted.

In Taylor County, Florida, the sheriff’s department issued advice to those who defied mandatory orders to leave. “If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, please write your name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so that you can be identified and family notified,” it stated.

In Perry, sheriff’s deputies and Florida Highway Patrol officers stopped people on the streets, ordering them to go inside or be jailed.

 

Residents in the state capital, Tallahassee, prepared for the storm, carrying sandbags and sealing up buildings
Residents in the state capital, Tallahassee, prepared for the storm, carrying sandbags and sealing up buildings
SEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGES
 
 
 
The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Vera Kelly, of Tallahassee, were in good spirits after evacuating to a hurricane shelter at Fairview Middle School
The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Vera Kelly, of Tallahassee, were in good spirits after evacuating to a hurricane shelter at Fairview Middle School
GERALD HERBERT/AP
 
 

In Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told holdouts in low-lying and flood-prone evacuation zones: “There’s gonna reach a point where you’re on your own. We’re not going to get our people killed because you don’t want to listen to what we’re saying.

“We all heard the adage: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Somebody’s gonna win a stupid prize — because we’re not coming.”

Author: Jacqui Goddard, Miami

Source: The Sunday Times

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