A Florida Sheriff’s Office has issued a haunting last message to Taylor County, Tallahassee residents as Hurricane Helene closed in.
The area, set to bear the brunt of the Category 4 storm, advised those who opted not to evacuate to write their personal details in permanent marker on their bodies for identification purposes.
The Facebook post read: “If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, PLEASE write your, Name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in A PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified.”
Helene sparked hurricane and flash flood warnings extending beyond the coast into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Strong winds had already left over 600,000 Florida homes and businesses without power, according to poweroutage. us.
The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, and Virginia declared states of emergency, reports the Express US. “There is increasing confidence of catastrophic and potentially unsurvivable storm surge for Apalachee Bay,” the NWS warned.
“Storm surge may begin to arrive as early as (Thursday) afternoon ahead of the strongest winds, building through landfall.” The hurricane’s eye was approximately 90 miles south of Tallahassee, Florida, with sustained winds of 140 mph, according to the U. S. National Hurricane Center.
A perilous north-northeast trek at 24 mph (39 kph) puts Florida on high alert as life-threatening storm surges as high as 20 feet (6 meters) loom in the Big Bend region. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has sounded an alarm for extreme winds hitting the Big Bend, where the eyewall’s arrival compels urgent action: “Treat this warning like a tornado warning,” their message cautions on X. “Take shelter in the most interior room and hunker down! “.
This weather onslaught comes not long after Hurricane Idalia’s fury broke through Florida’s Big Bend, inflicting widespread carnage barely a year ago. Gulf of Mexico originated Idalia escalated to Category 4 but hammered ashore as a Category 3 near Keaton Beach.
It boasted terrifying max winds circling 125 mph (205 kph). Idalia let loose over a broad area, from sustained tropical tempests to hurricane-force outbursts along Florida’s western reaches. Water surged across roads on Siesta Key close to Sarasota and swamped intersections at St. Pete Beach. Cedar Key still reeled from timber and debris left by a fire; those were now swept up in swelling tides.
The storm’s rage radiated beyond Florida in North Carolina’s mountains, rain poured down, measuring up to 10 inches (25 centimeters). With forecasts teasing an additional 14 inches (36 centimeters) before the storm’s cessation, this sets a grave stage for flood risks that could surpass any seen in the last 100 years.