“We have made almost 600 rescues,” Deanne Criswell, head of the federal agency responsible for responding to natural disasters (Fema), said on CNN. “The threat is not over” and the situation “is still dangerous,” she added, highlighting the risk of flash flooding, particularly in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia.
The US Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that “historic” and “catastrophic” flooding, accompanied by landslides, would continue in the Appalachian Mountains into Friday evening.
Hélène made landfall in northwest Florida on Thursday evening as a category 4 hurricane on a scale of 5, with winds blowing at 225 km/h. It was the most powerful hurricane to ever hit this region, according to expert Michael Lowry. “It was really scary at one point. I was wondering, is my house going to be blown away by the wind or not?,” Larry Bailey Jr. told AFP in the small town of Perry, Florida.
“We went to my sister’s room and said a prayer,” said the 32-year-old man, who had holed up with her and two nephews. “We are relieved and pray that another (hurricane) does not come, because there is still about a month left in the season.”
Heavy toll
On Treasure Island, near Tampa, Florida, pleasure boats ran aground in the gardens. Five deaths have been confirmed in this area, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. “This storm was deadly. Eleven deaths have been confirmed,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also declared on Friday noon. One of those people was part of a rescue team, he said.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, a person died when a tree fell on their home, the city’s firefighters announced.
Authorities in Taylor County, Florida, had asked reluctant residents to write their names on their bodies with permanent markers to help identify them if they were killed.
According to the site poweroutage.us, at 5:00 p.m. GMT, around 1.3 million customers were without electricity in South Carolina, a million in Georgia, 900,000 in Florida and also 900,000 in North Carolina.
Warm sea for fuel
By warming ocean waters, climate change makes the rapid intensification of these storms more likely and increases the risk of more powerful hurricanes.
After forming, Helen moved over particularly warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico — more than 30°C, according to climatologist Andra Garner. “It is likely that these very warm waters played a role in the rapid intensification of Hélène,” underlined the expert.
“We also know that hurricane-related marine flooding is getting worse because ocean levels are rising as we warm the planet,” she said.
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation and approved the state of emergency declarations of the states of Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Alabama. He urged residents to follow safety instructions from local authorities.
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