Tampa, United States (AFP) – A major storm bearing down on Florida strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday, US meteorologists said, as the US state mandates evacuations for thousands of residents and braces for possible dangerous storm surge and flooding.
“Helene becomes a hurricane… expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains to a large portion of Florida and the Southeastern United States,” the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its latest bulletin.
bur-mlm/nro
© Agence France-Presse
Featured image credit: kjpargeter | Freepik
