Florida Issues Mandatory Evacuation Orders as Hurricane Helene Strengthens: Officials Warn of 'Catastrophic' Impact

The state of Florida has issued a number of mandatory evacuation orders as Hurricane Helene strengthened over the Atlantic ocean.

As of Thursday morning, the storm had grown into a category 2 hurricane and is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Big Bend later in the evening.

Officials have urged people to heed evacuation orders, warning that the storm will bring “life-threatening” weather to the region with destructive winds and significant storm surge.

It is expected to make landfall as a category 4 hurricane south of Tallahassee, a city that has not seen a storm of this magnitude in recent memory.

Hurricane Helene has been described as “catastrophic” and “unsurvivable” by officials, who warned that it will bring with it a storm surge of up to 20 ft above ground level in some areas of the Big Bend.

“This forecast, if realised, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay,” the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee warned in a bulletin.

Michael Brennan, the director of the National Hurricane Centre (NHC), said on Thursday that residents under evacuation orders still have time to get out, but added that “conditions are going to deteriorate quickly.”

Power outages, tree damage and powerful winds that could tear roofs off of structures are expected, Mr Brennan said, as well as significant rainfall of up to 18 inches that could bring flash flooding in some areas.

The storm has been described as “very large” by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who warned on Thursday that it will bring with it tropical storm conditions to much of his state.

Around 14 tornado warnings were issued overnight on Wednesday, and DeSantis warned that more were likely in the coming day.

He added that Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city of 200,000 residents, could be significantly affected if the hurricane makes landfall directly on the city.

“This area has not had a major hurricane hit in quite some time, and nobody in recent memory has seen a storm of this magnitude hit,” DeSantis said.

As of 08:00 EST (13:00 GMT), Hurricane Helene was about 320 miles (515 kilometers) from Tampa, Florida, according to the NHC, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h).

DeSantis urged residents in the impacted regions to leave as soon as possible, as the hurricane is forecast to travel quickly towards the state.

“Every minute that goes by brings us conditions that are simply going to be too dangerous to navigate,” he said.

He added that people should anticipate flight delays and cancellations. Tampa International Airport and Tallahassee International Airport were both closed on Thursday in anticipation of the storm.

Search and rescue teams have been mobilised should they be needed, DeSantis said, and shelters have been opened for residents in affected areas.

All across the south-eastern US, the storm could trigger “catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding”, the NHC said.

In Georgia, all public schools in Atlanta will close on Thursday and Friday because of the storm.

Schools in South Florida have also been closed, and student activities and classes have been cancelled at the University of Florida.

The hurricane also affected the race for the White House, with the Republican candidate for vice-president, JD Vance, cancelling two events in Georgia that were planned for Thursday.

Earlier on its path, Hurricane Helene had passed Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula and the tourist resorts of Cancún.

Those regions were spared major damage when the hurricane skirted its north-eastern coast but failed to make landfall.

Torrential rains caused flooding in parts of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

Videos uploaded by tourists and locals in Cancún showed buses attempting to drive through flooded streets in the area where many of the city’s hotels are located.

But the state’s governor said there had been no casualties and officials reported that power was being restored to areas where it had been cut.

Hurricanes need sea surface temperatures of more than 27C (80F) to fuel them.

With exceptionally warm waters of the Gulf at 30-32C (86-89F), the sea surface is about two degrees Celsius above normal for the time of year.

Florida’s 220-mile (350-kilometre) Big Bend Coast is where Hurricane Idalia made landfall in 2023. The area was also battered by Hurricane Debby last month.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management has posted a list of the counties in which voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders have been issued ahead of Helene. (BBC News)