"Unsurvivable" flood: Mega storm rolls towards the mainland

USA - Anxiety in Florida: a severe storm is currently approaching the US state. The weather service is warning of an "unsurvivable" flood. What awaits the coastal region on Thursday evening when Hurricane Helene hits?

The storm itself formed in the Caribbean on Tuesday, moved across the Gulf of Mexico, where it gained strength, and is now on its way towards Florida. "Helene" has already been upgraded to a category 2 hurricane. By the time it makes landfall, "Helene" is expected to have reached category 3.

The words that US meteorologists have now chosen for their forecasts for the "Sunshine State" can only be frightening: The experts are warning of a "catastrophic" and "deadly" storm surge.

Parts of the Florida "Big Bend" National Park are particularly affected. A storm surge of up to six meters in height is expected there. "Destructive waves" could hit the mainland.

The south of the neighboring state of Georgia is also on alert: dangerous hurricane-force winds are expected there.

"Residents of these areas should follow the advice of local authorities and evacuate if told to do so," the US weather service said on "X" (formerly Twitter). All preparations to protect life and property should be completed as quickly as possible.

"People shouldn't underestimate the storm," said Keith Turi from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on CNN.

"There will be time to rebuild later, but right now we should focus on getting everyone through the storm as best we can."

A state of emergency has already been declared by Governor Ron DeSantis (46) in 61 counties of the US state. The National Guard has been activated with more than 3,300 troops to help with rescue operations, evacuation work and emergency supplies for residents, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

The picture is similar in Georgia, where a state of emergency has also been declared in all districts.

Singh assumes that the National Guard will also be activated in the states of Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Hurricane Helene hit parts of the Mexican peninsula of Yucatán. There, the storm caused uprooted trees and flooding.

Cuba was fortunately only touched. Nevertheless, there was a lot of flooding in the island state. The government switched off the power there as a precautionary measure. Over 70,000 people on the Caribbean island were without electricity, as the newspaper "Granma" reported.

Tropical cyclones form over the warm waters of the oceans through evaporation, explains the German Weather Service. They have "great destructive potential".

Experts see increasing global warming as a risk for the probability of strong storms.