TAYLOR COUNTY, Fla. – News 6′s Erik Sandoval and Megan Neeley are in Taylor County, part of the Big Bend area where Hurricane Helene is making landfall.
Transformers are blowing in the city of Perry, where heavy winds are knocking down trash cans, bending signs and trees, and sending tree debris down the streets. Parts of the city are in the dark. Our crew says the wind echoing off the buildings is like a roar.
The eyewall of the storm is south of the county, and our meteorologists are tracking winds between 120 mph and 140 mph.
There is a mandatory curfew in Taylor County right now. The county is under a mandatory evacuation, but some people have elected to stay. Officials have told people who are staying to write their name and information on an arm so they can be identified if something happens.
[RELATED: CONE, MODELS, SATELLITE | COUNTY-BY-COUNTY impacts | TIMELINE: When Helene will impact Central Fla. | Here’s what the ‘dirty side’ of a storm means | LIVE RADAR | Watch vs. Warning | DOWNLOAD: WKMG-TV free hurricane app]
1 p.m.
Keaton Beach is a few miles southwest of Perry in Taylor County, where News 6′s Erik Sandoval and Megan Neeley were Wednesday evening.
Right now the Gulf of Mexico is as smooth as glass, but Hurricane Helene is on its way. Wind speeds right now are only 10 mph in Keaton Beach. That will change. This part of Florida’s Big Bend region is a potential target for landfall.
Homes along the Gulf are built on stilts, prepared to take on storm surge. The homes likely have been there a while. They are weathered and have survived multiple storms.
But residents in the community do not appear to be taking chances and have heeded the evacuation call. Homes are boarded up and there are very few people around. Many are headed inland to Perry, where hotels are full, but officials are telling even people in Perry to head further inland.
We checked and it’s tough to find a hotel room within a hundred-mile radius of this area.
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