Hurricane “Helene”: the calm before the storm in Florida

It’s the calm before the storm Thursday morning in Florida, as hundreds of Quebecers prepare for the arrival of the hurricane Helene in the evening.

• Also read: “Catastrophic” storm surge: the hurricane Helene moves to category 2 as it approaches Florida

“You could hear a pin drop, it’s a ghost town, there’s no traffic. It’s warm and sunny. We’re waiting…” explains Pierre Bertrand, who lives in Sarasota, on the west coast of Florida.

In this city located 85 km south of Tampa Bay, winds of up to 120 km/h are expected. In anticipation of the storm, most businesses, schools and banks are closed.

“We are lucky, because we have time to prepare. The storm should arrive in Sarasota in the evening,” says Mr. Bertrand, a resident of the region for more than 20 years.

In anticipation of such a storm, however, two types of behavior can be observed: quickly closing the iron shutters or being excited as the weather phenomenon approaches.

“There were people swimming and surfing. I looked at them and said to myself: the level of fear can really be different from person to person. For me, it was certain that I wasn’t going into the water!” laughs Sonia Gauthier, who owns a spa and beauty salon also in Sarasota.

If the hurricane Helene should pass off the city, flooding is however expected after the passage of the storm, authorities have stressed.

“All those whose businesses are located on the first floor had to put sandbags to prevent water from entering under the door,” says M.^me Gauthier.

The hurricane on the way

With already winds of 155 km/h, the hurricane is classified as category 2 on a scale of 5, according to the American Hurricane Center, and continues its path over the Gulf of Mexico, towards the northwest of Florida.

It is expected to strengthen further and become a Category 3 or higher hurricane before making landfall in the Tallahassee area, the state capital, Thursday evening.

Helene could therefore be the most powerful hurricane to hit the United States in more than a year.

“I have lived here for 20 years and I have never been so worried. The hurricane is literally larger than Florida! The entire state will be impacted!” says Johanne Clement, who lives in Tampa.

The latter points out that mass evacuations of coastal residences and mobile homes have already taken place on Wednesday. For his part, M^me Clement prepared for power outages that “will definitely happen” during the day.

“We put frozen bottles of water in the freezer in the hope of keeping it cold as long as possible and we bought large jugs of water to fill the toilets, if necessary,” she explains.

Nervousness on the east coast

If the east coast of Florida should be less affected, its residents are still starting to be “nervous,” according to Julie Arel, who lives near Fort Lauderdale.

“It’s like a huge snowstorm: everyone has to stay at home,” illustrates the one who arrived at her Dania Beach condominium a few days ago.

Gusts of up to 80 km/h and 40 mm of rain are expected in the region Thursday afternoon.

“The tide is already very high and there is already a lot of water in the streets when you walk around, even though the rain has only just started. It’s going to be terrible soon! Let’s say that we are happy not to be in the middle of the trajectory,” underlines M^me Arel.

–With AFP