Hurricane “Helene”: something “never seen before”, testify from Quebecers

The hurricane Helene is one of the worst experienced by two Quebec women living in Florida, but they consider themselves lucky because their homes in Florida did not suffer heavy damage.

• Also read: Hurricane “Helene” kills at least 10 people in the southeastern United States, including a 4-year-old girl

• Also read: Palm trees at 45 degrees and green lightning: “I have never heard wind like that,” says a Quebecer in Florida

Johanne Clément, a resident of Safety Harbor, near Tampa Bay, is happy not to have suffered too much damage, despite the intensity of the hurricane Helene. There was a lot of flooding in the area.

M^me Clément has lived in Florida since 1992. This was one of the worst hurricanes she has witnessed.

“Calm returned at 6 a.m. Friday morning. There were wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour. Otherwise, it was 40 mph winds all the time, she said. It’s terrible the cleanup that will have to be done in Florida.”

Only the closing of M^me Clément broke down. Several branches also came loose from the trees. However, there is some cleaning to do.

“We were very, very lucky,” says M^me Clement. My sister who lives in St. Petersburg, the water almost reached the house.

The Tampa Bay Municipal wharf is completely demolished.

Julie Arel, who lives in a house near Fort Lauderdale, did not suffer any major impacts from the hurricane. However, she says these are the most impressive winds she has seen.

“The winds were incredible. I’ve never seen that here. No one moved and no one worked,” she says.