Biden warns:

“Extremely dangerous” hurricane hits Florida

YouTuber Mark Peyton holds up a US flag on the Florida coast shortly before the arrival of "Helene".

(Bild: AFP)

Hurricane "Helene" has made landfall on the west coast of the US state of Florida. This was announced by the US National Hurricane Center in the evening (local time). Shortly beforehand, it had already classified the hurricane as an "extremely dangerous hurricane" of the second-highest category 4. 

With sustained wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour, the center of the storm was located in the Big Bend region in northern Florida.

Power outage in 975,000 households in Florida
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) had issued an urgent warning that the storm would hit several states. Storm surges of up to six meters are expected on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, said Fema head Deanne Criswell. The entire west coast of Florida and the Big Bend region are particularly affected. According to data from the website Poweroutage.us, around 975,000 households in Florida were already without power in the evening.

People on a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, after Hurricane Helene made landfall.

(Bild: APA/Associated Press)

In the past few days, "Helene" had already caused numerous floods and power cuts in Cuba. Severe flooding cut off several towns on the Caribbean island from the outside world.

100 dead two years ago due to hurricane "Ian" 
The arrival of "Helene" is likely to bring back dark memories for many people in Florida. Two years ago, Hurricane Ian caused enormous damage there, killing more than 100 people. At that time, the center of the storm passed over densely populated areas in the southwest of the state and swept over coastal towns with wind speeds of around 240 kilometers per hour.

Tropical cyclones form over warm ocean waters. According to experts, increasing global warming increases the likelihood of strong storms. The hurricane season begins in the Atlantic on June 1 and lasts until November 30.