Hurricane Helene became a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday night and has made landfall in Florida, with residents warned not to travel

“It took me a long time to breathe,” Laurie Lilliott said of the moment she found her home destroyed in Dekle Beach, Florida.

The death toll has climbed to 37 after Hurricane Helene, one of the most powerful storms to strike the United States, made landfall in Florida as a

Fast-moving Hurricane Helene was nearing Florida's western coast Thursday, threatening a “catastrophic” storm surge in northwestern parts of the state as well as damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S., forecasters said. The storm was upgraded to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm Thursday. Landfall was expected by the evening. It knocked out power to over 500,000 homes and businesses as it approached.States of emergency were declared in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia and Alabama.In the Pacific, former Hurricane John strengthened Thursday morning back into a hurricane as it threatened areas of Mexico’s western coast with flash flooding and mudslides.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Isaac formed Wednesday in the Atlantic Ocean and was expected to strengthen as it moves eastward, possibly becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said.Follow AP's coverage of tropical weather at https://apnews.com/hub/hurricanes.Here's the latest:Tropical…

Hurricane Helene roared through Florida and into Georgia on Friday as one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S., with fears of deaths and widespread destruction in its wake. Details with Laurent Berstecher.