Hurricane Helene makes landfall in northwestern Florida

Helene strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane before making landfall in Florida. The storm is expected to be one of the biggest in decades.

Hurricane Helene has killed at least 3 people as it barreled into the US state of Georgia after making landfall in Florida on Thursday.

The storm has killed two people in Georgia after causing death in Florida, the governor of Georgia said Friday.

Helene weakened hours after it made landfall in the US state of Florida on Friday. However, disaster officials warned that the storm continues to be "extremely dangerous" as it moved inland.

Residents in Florida had been bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 hurricane that is expected to be one of the largest in weather systems in decades.

The storm tore through Florida and moved into neighboring Georgia, the US National Hurricane Center said.

It warned residents to stay in shelter from "catastrophic winds", storm surge and heavy rains. "This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation," the center said in its latest bulletin. 

The National Hurricane Center said in a post on X: "Helene has made landfall in the Florida Big Bend region at around 11:10 p.m. EDT just E of the mouth of the Aucilla River." 

Helene to leave a trail of destruction

Helene was packing winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour as it churned over the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico towards the Big Bend area south of Tallahassee.

The storm later weakened to Category 1 as it made landfall but continued to sustain windspeeds of 145 kilometers per hour.

Hundreds of thousands of people are without power and roads have been flooded in some parts with states of emergency being declared in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia and Alabama.

"EVERYONE along the Florida Big Bend coast is at risk of potentially catastrophic storm surge," the NHC warned on social media.

"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," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said.

Weather officials forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly "catastrophic and unsurvivable" in Florida's Apalachee Bay.

"This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era," the National Weather Service warned.

kb/rc (AFP, AP)