Category 4 Hurricane, Helene, made landfall on Perry, Florida around 11:10 p.m. EDT on September 26th, 2024. It carried 140mph winds that desecrated anything in its path. It set a record for its astounding storm surge in the Gulf Coast, making it one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States.
Helene destroyed houses, washed out roadways, caused landslides, and flipped any cars in its path. It devastated residents living far inland. After Florida, Helene went through Central Georgia, then hit South and North Carolina, Tennessee and even Virginia. Helene has been the deadliest hurricane since Katrina from 2005.
Its destruction went far beyond Florida. In North Carolina, roads were washed away, cell towers and power lines were toppled causing the needy to be unable to contact emergency officials making recovery difficult. Road closures swept across the state with two major highways being affected in I-40 and I-26. In the western region of North Carolina Roadways were damaged so bad that officials told the public to consider all roadways in the region to be closed. This allows emergency vehicles to navigate the navigate the region efficiently in their rescue operation. Long term damage was done to the water system. Official stated it could take several weeks to repair.
Helene hit the barrier islands and the Tampa Bay area extremely hard. This area is no stranger to hurricanes. However, they got hit extremely hard. At least 11 people have been confirmed dead, with over 1,000 people being rescued. Tampa also saw some of the worst flooding with water piling seven feet above the ground in most neighborhoods. That flooding was mainly caused by a record storm surge that occurred even with the eye 100 miles offshore. Helene was one of the strongest storms to hit the big bend of Florida, creating a nightmare scenario for residents who decided to stick it out.
The country is coming together to provide aide and recovery to much of these areas. Many national guard soldiers have been sent. Furthermore firefighters, first responders, and even services such as Elon Musk’s Star link have crucial in rehabilitation of the area. Star Link has been used to provide signal for many areas that were hit hard, enabling trapped and endangered residents to contact emergency services to receive aide.
Despite all these efforts, Florida is about to be hit with another powerful storm. Hurricane Milton is predicted to make landfall at a category 4, in the already devastated big bend coast. President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency for the state of Florida and there has been widespread mandatory evacuations across the state. However, Milton is still a developing storm that we will need to see how it unfolds for the already devastated Florida.
