NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A Connecticut couple was forced to cut their honeymoon short to escape Hurricane Helene .
Newlywed Hannah Pleines and her husband got married on Sept. 21 in Newington. She said their wedding day and honeymoon to Jacksonville, Florida, took months to plan.
“I definitely didn’t expect the honeymoon to go like this,” she said.
How to help victims of Hurricane Helene
They arrived on Monday and soon realized Hurricane Helene was expected to rapidly intensify and barrel into Florida’s Gulf Coast.
“We couldn’t tell there was dangerous weather coming in until Wednesday afternoon when we had gone to the beach, and the red hurricane flags were up on the beach, the clouds were low, and the tides were higher than normal,” Pleines said.
That weather forced them to change plans, cutting their honeymoon short.
“A lot of what contributed to my anxiety was the news stuff coming out of Florida, with ‘put your name and social security number on your body if you don’t evacuate,’ she said.