Hurricane Helene: 'Extremely dangerous' storm strengthens as it makes landfall in Florida

Helene has made landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, with forecasters warning of a "catastrophic" storm surge.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Helene struck near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida's Gulf Coast at around 11.10pm local time.

High winds, possibly in excess of 140mph (225kph), and flash floods are possible, the weather service said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters one person had died while driving on a motorway when a sign fell onto their car.

"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," Mr DeSantis 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 other people are reported to have been killed in a possible tornado in neighbouring south Georgia as the storm approached.

More than one million homes and businesses are already without power, according to tracking website poweroutage.

States of emergency have been declared in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, with hurricane and flash flood warnings in place as far away as south-central Georgia.

Several Florida counties are under mandatory evacuation orders, and millions of people are under flood watch.

Tallahassee residents have been leaving their homes, many having stocked up on sandbags, food and supplies, Sky's US partner NBC News reported.

The city's mayor John Dailey urged people to take the warnings "extremely seriously", calling Helene "the biggest storm in the history of the city to hit us head-on".

Speaking to NBC News on Wednesday, Mr Dailey said though they are "very prepared", he was also "very nervous, and I hope everyone is nervous".

He added: "This is a big storm. It is going to cause a lot of damage."

Jared Miller, sheriff of Wakulla County, went further - calling the storm "not a survivable event for those in coastal or low-lying areas".

The county has issued a mandatory evacuation order, but one resident, Christine Nazworth from Crawfordville, which is located about 25 miles (40km) from Apalachee Bay, said her family would be sheltering in place.

She said: "I'm prayed up. Lord have mercy on us. And everybody else that might be in its path."

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Leslie Powell, from Quincy, a city a similar distance from Tallahassee, told NBC she was leaving her mobile home to go to a shelter with her eight-month-old baby and six-year-old daughter.

She said simply: "I'm scared. I've got a lot of trees around my home, so it's not safe for me and my kids."

(c) Sky News 2024: Hurricane Helene: 'Extremely dangerous' storm strengthens as it makes landfall in Florida