AccuWeather's Bill Wadell is in Apalachicola, Florida, where people were urged to evacuate as soon as possible. Helene is expected to make landfall on Thursday as a major hurricane impacting millions.
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00:00Bill, storm surge and flooding is a huge concern in that coastal down. Of course I
00:06don't think there's a reporter that has more experience than storm surge than
00:10you do, having experienced one of the largest storm surges we've ever seen on
00:15a landfalling storm in the United States and that was of course at Fort Myers
00:20Beach during Hurricane Ian. Yeah that's right Bernie, Ariella, and that's why
00:26AccuWeather expert meteorologists are so concerned about the forecast with
00:31these storm surges possible 10 feet, 15 feet or greater. That's one of the
00:35reasons why we are not staying here for the landfall of this storm. You could see
00:39the building that we're at, this home next to us, just how close it is to the
00:43water with the rivers, the creeks, and of course the bay that's around
00:46Apalachicola. When you're talking about this much storm surge, this is a
00:49life-threatening situation. That's why there's mandatory evacuations in this
00:53area and we are dealing with some rain and storms moving through this morning
00:57and that's complicating the process for people trying to get ready and trying to
01:00get sandbags. Now AccuWeather is forecasting Helene to bring wind gusts
01:05that could reach 130 miles an hour here in Apalachicola, Florida. So we are
01:10talking about destructive and life-threatening wind gusts from this
01:14storm. Six to ten feet of storm surge possible here, four to eight inches of
01:18rainfall, and the worst impacts in Apalachicola, Florida are expected to
01:22arrive just after midday tomorrow. Now there are a handful of businesses so far
01:28that have boarded up their windows and blocked their doors with sandbags to try
01:32and prevent floodwaters from getting inside. We expect to see more of these
01:36preparations happening today. We met Kimberly Bennett. She was born and raised
01:40here in Apalachicola, lived here virtually her entire life. She's been
01:44through a lot of storms and says even with a mandatory evacuation order, she
01:48and many of her friends and family here likely will be staying put and hunkering
01:52down instead of evacuating. We've been here for a long, long, long time. It hasn't been
01:59here. Like I said, you don't never know. So I'm just hoping it's just a bad wind and
02:03water. We all live around it, so it's gonna be water. But other than that, I hope nothing
02:08else bad. Nobody gets hurt or pass away or anything like that. Officials are
02:14urging people here in Franklin County, Florida and Apalachicola, evacuate by
02:18noon today if you are going to do so. Trying to leave right before impacts
02:23arrive and especially trying to leave in the middle of this storm will be
02:26incredibly dangerous. Bernie and Ariella, this region is known as the Forgotten
02:32Coast for Region. There are a lot of tall trees here, a lot of untouched, pristine
02:37beaches, but that's just one of the concerns with wind gusts that could
02:40reach 130 miles an hour. We're talking about those tall trees that can come
02:44down, and we have seen in past hurricanes not just blocking roads and
02:48blocking evacuation routes, but trees slicing right into homes, through the
02:53roofs, hurting people. That's why there's so much concern with this storm. That's
02:57why officials are urging people get away from the water, get away from this risk
03:01of storm surge. This is going to be the deadliest threat with Helene is the
03:05storm surge. But again, the wind with the trees coming down, debris flying, this is
03:09expected to be a very dangerous storm. That's why there is a mandatory
03:12evacuation order starting at noon today here in Apalachicola, Florida. Bill, I
03:18want to put this storm in perspective. Now, it does all depend on where the
03:22center comes through, but if the center goes just off to the east of
03:27Apalachicola, let's say near Mexico Beach, that building behind you, turn
03:31around and take a look at it, that'll be gone. There will be nothing left of
03:35that building because of the wind and storm surge. That's the problem. I just
03:40want everybody that lives anywhere between Panama City Beach and also
03:45Steinhatchee, where this can come through, and again, we'll zone in a little
03:48closer tomorrow. That's kind of the devastation and the destruction that
03:53we're going to see with this. I just want people to understand that as we move
03:57forward. And Bertie, we had that conversation live on the AccuWeather
04:02Network right before Hurricane Ian. You had me walk up to that building. It's
04:06even tough for us to visualize knowing the real risk with this storm, and Ian
04:10was just a tragic example here in Florida. You're telling people there is
04:13a risk that storm surge is going to wash away your house, and that sadly is
04:18what we saw happen in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. We were there one day
04:21standing next to houses high and dry when we were finally able to get back
04:25into the hardest hit areas of Fort Myers Beach. Homes like this and other
04:29buildings just washed away.