Category 4 hurricane “Helene» hit the northwest coast of Florida Thursday evening.
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“Major” and “dangerous”, the storm is accompanied by violent winds of 225 km/h, according to the American National Hurricane Center (NHC).
It made landfall around 11:10 p.m.
According to Governor Ron DeSantis, the hurricane had already claimed one victim late yesterday evening. The person was allegedly struck by a traffic sign on Interstate 4 in Tampa.
AFP
Waves of up to 20 feet could be seen by the end of its time on the west coast of Florida. Around 10 p.m., the largest wave was noticed in Tampa Bay, with a height of 6.1 feet.
Thousands of residents evacuated the area. Some infrastructure is closed to traffic, such as the Skyway Bridge, one of the most important bridges serving the Tampa Bay region.
Getty Images via AFP
See the pictures
Leon County residents are sheltering at a high school near downtown Tallahassee.
REUTERS
A Fort Myers Beach man crosses a street that was completely flooded.
Reuters
A water team is deployed to Fort Myers Beach, where police are preparing to carry out a rescue.
The Clearwater Coast Guard Station rescued a man and his dog after his 36-foot sailboat was damaged and began taking on water about 25 miles off the coast of Sanibel Island.
Saint Petersburg resident Nick Ward wears diving goggles to protect himself from strong winds as he walks near a beach.
Getty Images via AFP
Winds overturn a boat on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg.
Getty Images via AFP
Video captured this afternoon shows the Howard Frankland Bridge completely flooded by waves
The International Space Station flew over the path of Hurricane Helene.
The water level begins to rise at Indian Beach, to the point of passing above the wall. We can see a man venturing nearby.
An image captured by a satellite shows the violence of the hurricane. We can see lightning flashing in the insides of “Helene”.
– With information from AFP
