Helene makes US landfall as major hurricane in Florida Big Bend

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 storm in the northwestern part of the US state of Florida.

The storm made landfall in the Big Bend region just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, according to the National Hurricane Center at 23:20 Eastern time (3:20 GMT Friday). Maximum sustained winds were around 140 miles/hour.

Helene was moving north-northeast, with a hurricane warning in effect for Anclote River to Mexico Beach.

Big Bend is a sparsely populated region of Florida.

However, a storm surge warning includes Tampa Bay, an important hub for the US fertilizer industry.

Nearly 1 million customers in Florida were without power, according to tracker PowerOutage.us.

PORT CLOSURES
Inbound and outbound traffic to Port Tampa Bay ceased ahead of the storm, and the port’s shipping channels were closed.

Port Tampa Bay is an energy products gateway for oil and gas, jet fuel and petroleum products, as well as fertilizers. It is also a gateway for construction and building materials.

Other port closures include Panama City, St Joe, St Petersburg, Manatee and Key West on Florida’s west coast, as well as Fernandina, Jacksonville and Canaveral on Florida’s east coast.

RAIL DISRUPTIONS
Railroad company CSX planned to close its TRANSFLO terminals in Tampa and Tampa Port on Thursday.

Railroad company Norfolk Southern said that customers with shipments moving through the southeast and mid-Atlantic should prepare for delays.

RECONSTRUCTION AND CHEM DEMAND
Hurricane Helene’s current path could put $5.64 billion worth of housing at risk to storm surge flooding, insurance data company CoreLogic said on Wednesday.

Reconstruction following hurricanes can increase demand for many chemicals and polymers.

Additional reporting by Al Greenwood