Helene made landfall on Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region on the Gulf Coast of the state.

The storm hit just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River around 11:10 p.m. EST about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, according to the National Hurricane Center. Officials have forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Florida’s Apalachee Bay.

One person was killed in Tampa on Thursday night after a driver was crushed by a falling road sign and two people were killed in Georgia when winds reportedly hit a mobile home. The storm began forming earlier this week in the Caribbean and grew into a Category 4 storm as it gained strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Power outages were reported for more than one million homes and business’ in the Florida alone and 50,000 it in Georgia.

Apartment buildings at St Pete Beach Florida are flooded ( 

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has said Hurricane Helene is unusually large and expected to have far-ranging impacts beyond Florida. Heavy rains began falling near the Florida-Georgia state line just after 7 p.m. EST. More than a dozen Georgia counties are expected to see winds up 110 mph according to the National Weather Service.

A state of emergency has been declared is in Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, as well as Alabama. Ahead of the storm Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged those who have not evacuated the state to get out as soon as possible. The National Weather Service has said for many coastal regions this is an “unsurvivable” storm due to the extreme storm surge.

“You’re going to have hurricane force winds for probably 50 miles outside the eye of the storm, and then you’re going to continue to see surge, particularly in that Big Bend area,” DeSantis said.

The governor warned residents they would likely lose power and that intercoastal bridges across the state were being closed to traffic.

As the storm makes it’s way up the southeast coast of the U.S. states as far north as Tennessee could see extreme rain and wind cause downed power lines and dangerous flooding.

The storm is now about 45 miles east-southeast of Tallahassee and is moving north-northeast at about 45 mph as of 11:20 EST, the NHC said.

Helene claimed its first life on late Thursday night after a Tampa driver was killed by falling sign that crushed their car. The incident happened on Interstate 4 in the westbound lanes at mile marker 1, the state patrol said.

It is not clear at this time how many deaths were caused by the fallen sign according to the Florida Highway Patrol, with the agency only referring to it as a “deadly crash.” FHS also did not say whether anyone else was injured in the crash. Traffic cameras in the area caught the sign on the I-4 on top of a vehicle in the area. Florida officials are asking residents in the area to stay off the roads amid the approaching storm.

“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where, very likely, there’s been additional loss of life. And certainly, there’s going to be loss of property,” Gov. DeSantis said ( 

Image:

Marine deputies are preparing for a rescue operation along Fort Myers Beach ( 

Image:

“It just shows you that it’s very dangerous conditions out there. You need to be, right now, just hunkering down,” he said.

DeSantis said more fatalities were possible as the storm advances and that 3,500 National Guardsmen were standing by to help respond.

“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where, very likely, there’s been additional loss of life. And certainly, there’s going to be loss of property,” he said. “You’re going to have people that are going to lose their homes because of this storm. So please keep those folks in mind, keep them in your prayers.”

Two people were also killed in south Georgia after a possible tornado struck a mobile home Wheeler County Sheriff Randy Rigdon told WMAZ-TV.

The damage was reported as heavy thunderstorms from Hurricane Helene raked much of the state. Wheeler County is about 70 miles southeast of Macon.

The Hurricane Center reports water levels are roughly 6 feet higher than the mean at Clearwater Beach and Cedar Key. Hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina.

61 of Florida’s 67 are under of a state of emergency and several counties remain under evacuation orders.

“Helene continues to produce catastrophic winds that are pushing further inland over the Florida Big Bend and Florida Panhandle and will soon be entering southeastern Georgia,” the National Hurricane Center said at around 12 a.m. EST on Friday. “This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Persons should not leave their shelters and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions.”