Hurricane Helene slams into US coast as deadly Category 4 storm leaving almost 1.5 million homes without power across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as forecasters warn of 'nightmare' storm surge and winds

Hurricane Helene made landfall successful northwestern Florida arsenic a Category 4 storm, battering the seashore with torrential rainfall and punishing gusts arsenic residents crossed the southeastern US braced for what forecasters warned would beryllium a 'nightmare storm'. 

Helene roared ashore astir 11:10pm past nighttime with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.

It deed adjacent the rima of the Aucilla River successful the Big Bend country of Florida's Gulf Coast - just 20 miles northwest of wherever Hurricane Idalia came ashore past twelvemonth astatine astir the aforesaid ferocity and caused wide damage.

Helene prompted hurricane and flash flood warnings extending acold beyond the seashore up into bluish Georgia and occidental North Carolina. 

More than 1.2 cardinal homes and businesses were without powerfulness successful Florida, much than 190,000 successful Georgia and much than 30,000 successful the Carolinas, according to the tracking tract poweroutage.us. 

The governors of those states and Alabama and Virginia each declared emergencies.

At slightest 3 radical person been killed truthful acold - 1 idiosyncratic died successful Florida erstwhile a motion fell connected their car and 2 radical were reported killed successful a imaginable tornado successful southbound Georgia arsenic the tempest approached.

'When Floridians aftermath up time morning, we're going to beryllium waking up to a authorities wherever precise apt there's been further nonaccomplishment of beingness and surely there's going to beryllium nonaccomplishment of property,' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said astatine a quality league Thursday night.

Helene was aboriginal Friday downgraded to a Category 2 tempest but has already near a way of demolition successful its wake.  

Helene was moving rapidly inland aft making landfall, with the halfway of the tempest acceptable to contention from confederate to bluish Georgia done aboriginal Friday morning. 

The hazard of tornadoes besides would proceed overnight and into the greeting crossed northbound and cardinal Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and confederate North Carolina, forecasters said. 

'Helene continues to nutrient catastrophic winds that are present pushing into confederate Georgia,' the hurricane halfway said successful an update astatine 1 a.m. Friday. 

'Persons should not permission their shelters and stay successful spot done the transition of these life-threatening conditions.'

Even earlier landfall, the storm's wrath was felt widely, with sustained tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force gusts on Florida's westbound coast. 

Water lapped implicit a roadworthy successful Siesta Key adjacent Sarasota and covered immoderate intersections successful St. Pete Beach. Lumber and different debris from a occurrence successful Cedar Key a week agone crashed ashore successful the rising water.

Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches of rainfall had fallen successful the North Carolina mountains, with up to 14 inches much imaginable earlier the deluge ends, mounting the signifier for flooding that forecasters warned could beryllium worse than thing seen successful the past century.

Heavy rains began falling and winds were picking up earlier Thursday successful Valdosta, Georgia, adjacent the Florida authorities line. 

The upwind work said much than a twelve Georgia counties could spot hurricane-force winds exceeding 110 mph (177 kph).

In southbound Georgia, 2 radical were killed erstwhile a imaginable tornado struck a mobile location connected Thursday night, Wheeler County Sheriff Randy Rigdon told WMAZ-TV. Wheeler County is astir 70 miles southeast of Macon.

The tempest made landfall successful the sparsely-populated Big Bend area, location to sportfishing villages and abrogation hideaways wherever Florida's Panhandle and peninsula meet.

In an unsettling station connected Facebook, the sheriff's bureau successful agrarian Taylor County warned residents who had not evacuated: 'Please constitute your name, birthday, and important accusation connected your limb oregon limb successful a PERMANENT MARKER truthful that you tin beryllium identified and household notified.'

Still, Philip Tooke, a commercialized fisherman who took implicit the concern his begetter founded adjacent the region's Apalachee Bay, planned to thrust retired this tempest similar helium did during Hurricane Michael and the others - connected his boat. 

'If I suffer that, I don't person anything,' Tooke said. 

Michael, a Category 5 storm, each but destroyed 1 town, fractured thousands of homes and businesses and caused immoderate $25 cardinal successful harm erstwhile it struck the Florida Panhandle successful 2018.

Many, though, were heeding the mandatory evacuation orders that stretched from the Panhandle southbound on the Gulf Coast successful low-lying areas astir Tallahassee, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Lake City, Tampa and Sarasota.

Among them were Cindy Waymon and her husband, who went to a structure successful Tallahassee aft securing their location and packing medications, snacks and drinks. They wanted to enactment harmless fixed the magnitude of the storm, she said.

'This is the archetypal clip we've really travel to a shelter, due to the fact that of the complexities of the tempest and the uncertainties,' she said.

Federal authorities staged search-and-rescue teams arsenic the upwind work forecast tempest surges of up to 20 feet and warned they could beryllium peculiarly 'catastrophic and unsurvivable' successful Apalachee Bay.

'Please, please, delight instrumentality immoderate evacuation orders seriously!' the bureau said, describing the surge script arsenic 'a nightmare.'

This agelong of Florida known arsenic the Forgotten Coast has been mostly spared by the wide condo improvement and commercialization that dominates truthful galore of Florida's formation communities. 

The portion is loved for its earthy wonders - the immense stretches of brackish marshes, tidal pools and obstruction islands.

'You unrecorded down here, you tally the hazard of losing everything to a atrocious storm,' said Anthony Godwin, who lives astir a half-mile from the h2o successful the coastal municipality of Panacea, arsenic helium stopped for state earlier heading westbound toward his sister's location successful Pensacola.

School districts and aggregate universities canceled classes. Airports successful Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, portion cancellations were wide elsewhere successful Florida and beyond.

While Helene volition apt weaken arsenic it moves inland, damaging winds and dense rainfall were expected to widen to the confederate Appalachian Mountains, wherever landslides were possible, forecasters said. Tennessee was among the states expected to get drenched.

Helene had swamped parts of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula connected Wednesday, flooding streets and toppling trees arsenic it passed offshore and brushed the edifice metropolis of Cancun. 

In occidental Cuba, Helene knocked retired powerfulness to much than 200,000 homes and businesses arsenic it brushed past the island.

Areas 100 miles northbound of the Georgia-Florida enactment expected hurricane conditions. The authorities opened its parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. 

Overnight curfews were imposed successful galore cities and counties successful southbound Georgia.

'This is 1 of the biggest storms we've ever had,' said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

For Atlanta, Helene could beryllium the worst onslaught connected a large Southern inland metropolis successful 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology prof Marshall Shepherd.

Helene is the eighth named tempest of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane play this twelvemonth due to the fact that of record-warm water temperatures.