Thousands of residents began to evacuate yesterday from the coast of Florida, in the southeastern part of the US, in view of the arrival, expected today, of Hurricane Helen, which could develop into “destructive and deadly» phenomenon, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Tropical Storm Helen was upgraded to “very bigthe” cyclone yesterday and is expected to affect a significant part of the State and the wider region causing “very dangerous tides, gale force winds and torrential rains“, the NHC clarified in its latest bulletin.

Winds already reached 140 km/h and the cyclone could make landfall in Florida this evening local time as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, after it swept across the tourist Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

In Cuba, Helen’s passage has already caused torrential rain, with rain falling as much as 100 millimeters in some communities, while winds gusted to nearly 90 kilometers per hour.

The small village of Guanimar, in the western part of the island, was submerged under a meter of water and residents had no choice but to hang clothes and other items on their roofs to dry, while others donned fishing boots to distribute foods.

In the US, “a devastating and deadly storm could hit the Big Bend Coast“, in the northern part of Florida, “where floods could reach a height of 6 meters along with destructive waves”, added the NHC, which points out that the interior is not expected to be exempt.

Neighboring states have been declared a state of emergency and the city of Atlanta, Georgia is expecting gale force winds and heavy rain tomorrow.

“The Biden-Harris administration is ready to provide aid to Florida and all US states in the path of the storm,” the White House pointed out, after President Joe Biden attended a meeting on the matter.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis imposed a state of emergency in nearly all of the state’s counties, 67 in number.

He also put the National Guard and thousands of people on standby for possible search and rescue operations, power restoration and street cleaning.

Sixteen Florida counties announced mandatory evacuation orders for some of the population, while two ordered the evacuation of all residents.

Ron DeSandis said at least 62 health care facilities, from hospitals to nursing homes, have begun evacuation operations and more are expected to follow.

“You will feel the impact of this storm (…) really all over the Florida peninsula“, the governor said during a press conference.

If forecasts for Helen are confirmed, it will be the first hurricane of this size to hit the US in more than a year. The last passage of such a strong cyclone was recorded in August 2023, when Italia hit the northeastern part of Florida.