Hurricane Helene has made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm after forecasters predicted “a catastrophic and deadly storm surge” for the Sunshine State.
Helene battered the shores around 11:10 p.m. Thursday about 10 miles west of Perry, Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). “Based on data from Air Force reconnaissance aircraft, the maximum sustained winds are estimated to be 140 mph,” NHC said in a statement.
Perry sits in the Big Bend region of northern Florida, a hurricane-prone area where the state’s Panhandle transitions into the main part of the peninsula.
Figures from the site poweroutage.us showed that nearly 1 million Florida households were already without power when Helene pounded the coastline, and outages were likely to increase significantly after landfall.
Helene became a tropical storm on Tuesday and has gained strength since, easily becoming the season’s most powerful hurricane by the time it reached land. NHC warned that the storm had become “an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane” hours before landfall.
The hurricane could inflict catastrophic damage on multiple states in its path in addition to Florida. Parts of Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky are also expected to endure the storm’s center throughout the weekend, with destruction from Helene likely to extend far from its nexus.
“Helene has rapidly intensified today while nearing landfall in the Florida Big Bend,” the NHC said in a forecast discussion earlier on Thursday. “It should be emphasized that Helene is at the upper bound of hurricanes in terms of storm size and impacts are and will occur well away from the center.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urged those in the path of Helene “to take immediate action to protect themselves as the storm approaches,” pointing out that there is a “risk for dangerous flash and flooding in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.”
While over 1,800 federal government personnel were in place to assist with potential fallout from the storm on Thursday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell urged those in the storm’s path to heed warnings from local authorities.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is ready for this event. We are prepared and postured for response,” Criswell said in a statement. “People in Hurricane Helene’s path need to take this seriously.”
“Listen to your state and local elected officials,” she added. “If they tell you to evacuate, evacuate. If they tell you to shelter in place, stay where you are. These decisions can save lives.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to FEMA via email on Thursday night.
Wakulla County Sheriff Jared Miller issued a dire warning to residents in a post to Facebook shortly before Helene was expected to make landfall, especially urging locals in low-lying areas to exit the hurricane’s path.
“This will not be a survivable event for those in coastal or low lying areas,” Miller said. “We can additionally expect numerous downed trees and substantial building damage.”
In Taylor County, where the hurricane made landfall, the sheriff’s office offered grim advice for those refusing to evacuate, saying in a Facebook post that residents who stay put should write their names and other significant information on their arms in permanent marker so their bodies “can be identified and family notified.”
Wakulla and Taylor were two among more than 20 Florida counties that were under mandatory evacuation orders at the time of publication, while voluntary evacuations were underway in several other counties. Evacuation updates for Florida residents are available at FloridaDisaster.org.