Major Hurricane Helene came roaring ashore into Florida in the United States of America, lashing the region with hurricane-force winds and threatening with a potentially “unsurvivable” 20-foot storm surge and flooding rain.
Fox News reports that Helene made landfall around Taylor County, Florida, between Tallahassee and Tampa, with impacts felt hundreds of miles away.
According to the report, at least two deaths were reported in Wheeler County, Georgia, where a mobile home was damaged during one of the many Tornado Warnings.
The hurricane’s storm surge was significant enough to trigger water rescues from the Big Bend to Southwest Florida and mobile homes were even said to be floating in the coastal town of Steinhatchee.
Power outages have also soared as the center of Helene has moved ashore the coast.
Currently, more than a million were said to be without power in the Sunshine State as wind gusts neared or even exceeded hurricane-force strength.
Significant outages were also reported in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
FOX Weather’s Ian Oliver said the surge quickly submerged streets around St. Pete Beach on Thursday evening, with high tide several hours away.