MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Peñarol had a 0-0 draw at home against Brazil´s Flamengo on Thursday to secure a spot in the Copa Libertadores semifinals for the first time in 13 years.
The Uruguayan club won the first leg 1-0 via a Javier Cabrera goal.
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MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Peñarol had a 0-0 draw at home against Brazil´s Flamengo on Thursday to secure a spot in the Copa Libertadores semifinals for the first time in 13 years.
Maximiliano Silvera of Uruguay's Penarol , front, and Wesley Franca of Brazil's Flamengo battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Fans of Uruguay's Penarol cheer during a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match against Brazil's Flamengo at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Gonzalo Plata of Brazil's Flamengo, left, and Jaime Baez of Uruguay's Penarol battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Players of Uruguay's Penarol celebrate at the end of a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match against Brazil's Flamengo at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Maximiliano Olivera of Uruguay's Penarol, celebrates at the end of a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match against Brazil's Flamengo at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Peñarol will next play Botafogo, which beat Sao Paulo on penalties in an all-Brazil quarterfinal to reach the last four for the first time since 1973.
Five-time champion Peñarol has struggled in the last decade in the Copa Libertadores with group-stage exits in its previous nine appearances. The Uruguayans haven't reached this stage since a run to the final in 2011.
Peñarol was an underdog against Flamengo, which spent more than $50 million in the offseason attempting to build a team capable of earning the club a fourth Copa Libertadores title.
In the other semifinal, Argentina’s River Plate will play against Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro.
The Copa Libertadores final is scheduled for Nov. 30 in Buenos Aires. It's the home of River Plate, which advanced over Chile’s Colo Colo. Atletico Mineiro defeated defending champion Fluminense 2-0 to reach the semifinals.
River Plate is led by coach Marcelo Gallardo, who returned after a brief stint with the Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia. Gallardo won Copa Libertadores titles with River Plate in 2015 and 2018.
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Gerson of Brazil's Flamengo, right, and Maximiliano Olivera of Uruguay's Penarol battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Maximiliano Silvera of Uruguay's Penarol , front, and Wesley Franca of Brazil's Flamengo battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Fans of Uruguay's Penarol cheer during a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match against Brazil's Flamengo at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Gonzalo Plata of Brazil's Flamengo, left, and Jaime Baez of Uruguay's Penarol battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Players of Uruguay's Penarol celebrate at the end of a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match against Brazil's Flamengo at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Maximiliano Olivera of Uruguay's Penarol, celebrates at the end of a Copa Libertadores quarter final second leg soccer match against Brazil's Flamengo at Campeon del Siglo Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene strengthened into a Category 4 storm ahead of its expected landfall on Florida’s northwest coast Thursday night as forecasters warned that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.S.
Helene prompted hurricane and flash flood warnings extending far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Strong winds already cut power to more than 600,000 homes and businesses in Florida, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared emergencies in their states.
The hurricane was about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Tallahassee, Florida, and had sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Accelerating through the Gulf of Mexico, it was moving north-northeast at 24 mph (39 kph), and life-threatening storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) were expected in the Big Bend area of Florida.
Helene arrives barely a year since Hurricane Idalia slammed into Florida’s Big Bend and caused widespread damage. Idalia became a Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico but made landfall as a Category 3 near Keaton Beach, with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph (205 kph).
The storm's wrath was felt widely, with sustained tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force gusts along Florida's west coast. Water lapped over a road in Siesta Key near Sarasota and covered some intersections in St. Pete Beach. Lumber and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago crashed ashore in the rising water.
Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain had fallen in the North Carolina mountains, with up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) more possible before the deluge ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything seen in the past century.
Heavy rains began falling and winds were picking up in Valdosta, Georgia, near the Florida state line. The National Weather Service said more than a dozen Georgia counties could see hurricane-force winds exceeding 110 mph.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that models suggest Helene will make landfall further east than earlier forecast, lessening the chances for a direct hit on the capital city of Tallahassee, whose metro area has a population of around 395,000.
The shift has the storm aimed squarely at the sparsely-populated Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways where Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula meet.
“Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified,” the sheriff's office in mostly rural Taylor County warned those who chose not to evacuate in a Facebook post, the dire advice similar to what other officials have dolled out during past hurricanes.
Still, Philip Tooke, a commercial fisherman who took over the business his father founded near the region’s Apalachee Bay, planned to ride out this storm like he did during Hurricane Michael and the others – on his boat. “If I lose that, I don’t have anything,” Tooke said. Michael, a Category 5 storm, all but destroyed one town, fractured thousands of homes and businesses and caused some $25 billion in damage when it struck the Florida Panhandle in 2018.
Many, though, were heeding the mandatory evacuation orders that stretched from the Panhandle south along the Gulf Coast in low-lying areas around Tallahassee, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Lake City, Tampa and Sarasota.
Among them was Sharonda Davis, one of several gathered at a Tallahassee shelter worried their mobile homes wouldn’t withstand the winds. She said the hurricane’s size is “scarier than anything because it’s the aftermath that we’re going to have to face.”
Federal authorities were staging search-and-rescue teams as the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Apalachee Bay.
“Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!” the office said, describing the surge scenario as “a nightmare.”
This stretch of Florida known as the Forgotten Coast has been largely spared by the widespread condo development and commercialization that dominates so many of Florida’s beach communities. The region is loved for its natural wonders — the vast stretches of salt marshes, tidal pools and barrier islands.
“You live down here, you run the risk of losing everything to a bad storm,” said Anthony Godwin, 20, who lives about a half-mile (800 meters) from the water in the coastal town of Panacea, as he stopped for gas before heading west toward his sister’s house in Pensacola.
School districts and multiple universities canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while cancellations were widespread elsewhere in Florida and beyond.
While Helene will likely weaken as it moves inland, damaging winds and heavy rain were expected to extend to the southern Appalachian Mountains, where landslides were possible, forecasters said. The hurricane center warned that much of the region could experience prolonged power outages and flooding. Tennessee was among the states expected to get drenched.
Helene had swamped parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, flooding streets and toppling trees as it passed offshore and brushed the resort city of Cancun. In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it brushed past the island.
Areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line expected hurricane conditions. The state opened its parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. Overnight curfews were imposed in many cities and counties in south Georgia.
“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst strike on a major Southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures.
In further storm activity, Tropical Storm Isaac formed Wednesday in the Atlantic and was expected to strengthen as it moves eastward across the open ocean, possibly becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said. Officials said its swells and winds could affect parts of Bermuda and eventually the Azores by the weekend.
In the Pacific, former Hurricane John reformed Wednesday as a tropical storm and strengthened Thursday back into a hurricane as it threatened areas of Mexico’s western coast with flash flooding and mudslides. Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador raised John’s death toll to five as communities along the country’s Pacific coast prepared for the storm to make a second landfall.
Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Valdosta, Georgia; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.
A man floats in a container on a street flooded by the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina via a container through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man floats in a container on a street flooded by the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina via a container through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man in a kayak uses a makeshift paddle as he travels through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Camryn Frick, left, and Jillian Sternick, both 22, and of Tampa, hold hands as they cross a flooded street together along Bayshore Boulevard on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Charles Starling, a lineman with Team Fishel, is pelted with rain as he walks by a row of electrical line trucks stage in a field in The Villages, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in preparation for damage from Hurricane Helene. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Guests at the Magic Kingdom break out ponchos at Cinderella Castle as bands of weather from Hurricane Helene move through Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. All four of Disney's Florida theme parks remained open Thursday as the storm passed to the west in the Gulf of Mexico. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 5:46 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico moving towards Florida, Thursday, Sept. 26 2024. (NOAA via AP)
Flooded streets after the Hurricane Helene are seen in Madeira Beach, Fla.,Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A sign closing down a road is posted around the Sunset Park neighborhood as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida panhandle on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Eric Midili, 45, examines and walks around a flooded street around the Sunset Park neighborhood as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida panhandle on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A truck drives through a flooded street around the Sunset Park neighborhood as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida panhandle on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Workers clear shopping carts from the parking lot at a Walmart that just closed ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Workers clear shopping carts from the parking lot at a Walmart that just closed ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A Sam's Club employee wraps wraps fuel pumps ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The Sam's Club fuel island is closed ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The Sam's Club fuel island is closed ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Darren Archer works on tying down a cover over a boat named the Susan D. docked in St. Marks, Fla. on Thursday Sept. 26, 2024. Archer, who works for the St. Marks Seafood company, plans to ride out Hurricane Helene on a boat. (AP Photo/Kate Payne)
Vera Kelly, of Tallahassee, lies on a cot after evacuating to a hurricane shelter with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Chloe Gray, 19, of Safety Harbor wades in the water at the Oldsmar Pier before Hurricane Helene arrives on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Oldsmar, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Lina Anasri, 19, enjoys the winds and waves along the beach as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida panhandle, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in Pass-a-Grille, Fla. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Melvin Juarbe, right, attempts to assist an unidentified driver whose car stalled in floodwaters from Hurricane Helene Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in Madeira Beach, Fla. The men tried to pull the car to dry land with their pickup truck but have opted to call AAA after several failed attempts. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Neighbors chat on a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Surfers take advantage of heavy winds along Higgs Beach in Key West, Florida, on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. Despite passing the Florida Keys by hundreds of miles, sustained winds over 40 mph churned up the usually calm, nearshore waters. (Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP)
Louis Ward, 57, rides his bike along the the Gulfport waterfront as it takes on water as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida Panhandle, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in Gulfport. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Jose Gonzales and his son Jadin Gonzales, 14, fill sand bags ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Clyattville, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The St. Pete Pier is pictured among high winds and waves as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida panhandle, passing west of Tampa Bay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Sharonda and Victor Davis, of Tallahassee, sit with their children Victoria background left, and Amaya, background right, inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The grandchildren and great grandchildren of Vera Kelly, of Tallahassee, sit together after evacuating to a hurricane shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bobby Joe Edwards, Sr., and his wife Lillie Edwards, of Walkalla, Fla., and their grandson Tavarrious Dixon, right, rest inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Cynthia Centeno, of Tallahassee sits with her family inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Mary Tanner Jerome Tanner, of Tallahassee, sit inside an evacuation shelter ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Cindy Waymon, of Tallahassee sits inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Katoria Harvey, of Tallahassee, sits with her niece Ny'Year Harvey, 3 months, inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Perry Kalip and his mother Martha Kale, of Tallahassee, arrive at a a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jean McCloud, left, and Bernice Walker, both of Tallahassee, sit inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Vera Kelly, of Tallahassee, lies on a cot after evacuating to a hurricane shelter with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bob and Lisa Danzey, residents, look out at the water from their golf cart ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Shell Point Beach, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bob Danzey, a resident, walks at the waters edge ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Shell Point Beach, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Crum’s Mini Mall in the coastal town of Panacea, Fla., is boarded up Thursday Sept. 26, 2024 ahead of Hurricane Helene’s expected arrival. (AP Photo/Kate Payne)
This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Helene advancing across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (NOAA via AP)
People traverse a flooded street on a boat after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man lights charcoal to cook dinner in his flooded home after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man removes water from a boat while talking to neighbors after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People lounge on a flooded porch after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man pushes his bicycle through a flooded street after Hurricane Helene passed through Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Neighbors chat on a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man spends time with his pig on his flooded porch after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People traverse a flooded street with a horse-drawn carriage after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Guanimar, Artemisa province, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A resident uses a piece of plastic as protection from heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Residents use a piece of plastic as protection from heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A resident uses a piece of plastic sheet as protection from heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Owners secure their boats outside the Davis Islands Yacht Club Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Helene in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Paulette McLin takes in the scene outside their summer home ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bo Manausa pulls his boot out of the water ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, second from right, speaks to linemen before a news conference, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at the Tampa Electric Company offices in Tampa, Fla., as Tropical Storm Helene, expected to become a hurricane, moves north along Mexico’s coast toward the U.S. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Jerry McCullen, top of ladder left, and Carson Baze, top of ladder right, put plywood over the windows of a house ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bo Manausa , right, and his friend Josh Simmons pull a boat out of the water ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A shopper passes by empty shelves in the bread section of a Walmart, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Tallahassee, Fla. Grocery stores and gas stations were seeing heavy traffic in advance of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday night in the Big Bend area. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)
A shopper checks out nearly empty shelves in the lunch meat section of a Walmart, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Tallahassee, Fla. Grocery stores and gas stations were seeing heavy traffic in advance of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday night in the Big Bend area. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)
Dave McCurley boards up the windows to his home in advance of Tropical Storm Helene, expected to make landfall as a hurricane, in Ochlockonee Bay, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A person walks in the rain after the passing of Hurricane John in Marquelia, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)
Dave McCurley boards up the windows to his home in advance of Tropical Storm Helene, expected to make landfall as a hurricane, in Ochlockonee Bay, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A traffic advisory sign on westbound S.R. 408 near downtown Orlando, Fla., informs commuters of the approaching Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Paulette McLin takes in the scene outside their summer home ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Visitors to the Southernmost Point marker in Key West, Fla., are hit by wind driven waves from approaching Hurricane Helene on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 5:51 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico, Wednesday, Sept. 25 2024. (NOAA via AP)
