Tallahassee mayor says Helene could bring ‘unprecedented damage’
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey said if the trajectory of Helene holds, the area will see “unprecedented damage like nothing we have ever experienced before as a community.”
Tallahassee, in the Big Bend area, is inland within the projected path of Helene’s landfall.
“If the city of Tallahassee is hit directly by a Category 3 hurricane, it’ll be the strongest hurricane in recorded history ever to hit our community. Current forecast continues to position us squarely within the cone of Hurricane Helene,” he said today at a press conference for Tallahassee and Leon County.
Locals should plan for a possible direct hit with winds in excess of 100 mph and flooding, he warned, adding that the city will see downed trees, structural damage and loss of power in the storm.
“Now is the time to prepare. We have no more time left wait. Today is the day. We urge you to stay weather aware as we’re on the verge of what could be … a historic event,” he added.
Mutual aid resources from nine states — Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Arkansas, Pennsylvania Kentucky Michigan and Florida — are arriving to the area later today.
“By the sun setting this evening, we will have tripled our electric utility workforce,” and when restoration begins the goal is to increase it five-fold, he said.
