Tropical Storm Helene grows into hurricane, nears Florida

The hurricane is expected to make landfall in Florida, with over 40 million people in three US states currently under storm warnings.

Tropical Storm Helene reached hurricane strength on Wednesday as it proceeded over the Gulf of Mexico on its way to the southeastern United States, the federal National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

More than 40 million people in the southeastern US states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama were under hurricane and tropical storm warnings ahead of the hurricane's arrival.

It comes a day after Hurricane John made landfall in Mexcio as a Category 3 storm and over a month after Storm Debby hit Florida.

Schools closed, nursing homes evacuated in Florida

Numerous evacuations are being ordered along Florida's Gulf coast, including in the counties of Sarasota and Charlotte.

Dozens of other counties in the US' southeastern-most state announced school closures due to hurricane and tropical storm warnings.

Officials in Pinellas County, which lies on a peninsula surrounded by the Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, ordered evacuations of long-term healthcare facilities, including nursing homes, assisted living centers and hospitals near the coast.

"Now, you still have time to prepare, review your hurricane plan, and make sure that you are executing your hurricane preparedness plan," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a Tuesday press briefing.

Florida emergency officials also told residents in the potential path of the storm that they could be left without power for a week.

Helene to make landfall near Tallahassee

Earlier on Wednesday, officials said Helene showed wind speeds of 70 mph (160 kph). The National Weather Service (NWS) said that the storm was expected to make landfall on the Big Bend region on Thursday, which includes the state capital of Tallahassee.

Heavy rainfall was expected to start on Wednesday, preceeding the hurricane in the southeastern US.

Helene was expected to produce a 15 foot (4.6 meter) rise in the sea level due to storm conditions, with 15 inches (38.1 centimeters) of rain foreseen for some parts of the region.

The NHC said that the rain could cause considerable flash and urban flooding.

"It is going to be a big storm," NHC Deputy Director Jaime Rhome said at a press briefing on Tuesday. "It's going to push a big swath of storm surge across the western portions of the Florida peninsula. This area is really, really vulnerable to storm surge."

sdi/dj (AP, Reuters)