Floridians fill sandbags ahead of Tropical Storm Helene | ABS-CBN News

Residents on the Gulf Coast of Florida filled sandbags on Wednesday (September 25) as Tropical Storm Helene rapidly intensified in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, promising to become a hurricane and bring life-threatening storm surge to Florida within the next two days. More than 40 million people in Florida, Georgia and Alabama were under hurricane and tropical storm warnings as the Helene barreled northwest, near the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, the National Weather Service said on Wednesday. Numerous evacuations are being ordered alone Florida's Gulf coast and dozens of counties have announced schools will close. Helene was packing wind speeds of 70 mph (160 kph), just shy of hurricane force. Helene was predicted to become a hurricane later on Wednesday as it travels over the warm Gulf waters, the center said. The storm is forecast to become a Category 3 storm before it makes landfall on Florida's Big Bend region south of Tallahassee on Thursday. A major hurricane is a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale and is capable of causing devastating or even catastrophic damage. The storm was expected to produce life threatening 15-foot (4.6 m) storm surge. It was also expected to dump up to 15 inches (38.1 cm) of rain in some isolated spots in the region, causing considerable flash and urban flooding, the National Hurricane Center said. Residents in the potential path are being told to prepare to be without power for up to a week, Florida emergency officials said in a briefing. (Production: Maria Alejandra Cardona, Arlene Eiras) For more ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgUHWUpi2ioSp4xAP1SmAaf For more Breaking News & Live Coverage videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgG2ln-vtKXb-oLlGEZc3sR For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmg4pcvfM9a96rbUcLD_0P_U For more News Digital News Raw Cuts, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmivfD9aJD-8k0SNcMqG2xdA Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch full episodes on iWantTFC for FREE here: http://iwanttfc.com Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews #Florida #LatestNews #ABSCBNNews