Hurricane Helen unleashed “catastrophic storm surge and life-threatening winds” as it struck Florida’s Big Bend area before making its way into Georgia.
More than four million people were without power in five southeastern U.S. states on Friday morning, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.
Helen made landfall in northwest Florida as a Category 4 storm on Thursday evening, before weakening to a tropical storm over Georgia, where a flash flood emergency was in place in metropolitan Atlanta.
At least 40 storm-related deaths were reported in four U.S. states, according to the Associated Press.
Water levels in areas within Florida’s Big Bend near Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee Beach and Horseshoe Beach are reaching more than 15 feet above ground level. According to preliminary post-landing modeling.
In this aerial view, vehicles are seen driving through a flooded street as Hurricane Helen moves offshore on Thursday in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A truck drives through a flooded street around the Sunset Park neighborhood as Hurricane Helen makes its way toward Florida on Thursday in Tampa, Florida.
Jeffrey Wu/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Eric Medilli, 45, checks and walks along a flooded street around the Sunset Park neighborhood as Hurricane Helen makes its way toward Florida on Thursday in Tampa, Florida.
Jeffrey Wu/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Helena had inundated Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and western Cuba earlier this week.
The National Hurricane Center said Helen is producing “historic, catastrophic and life-threatening flooding, including several large landslides” across parts of the southern Appalachians, which will continue into the evening.
“Widespread large river floods continue, some of which will be record-breaking.” The center said in an update at 11 a.m. ET.
The center is also warning residents in parts of the southeastern United States about the “possibility of prolonged power outages.”
Flash flood emergencies were also in effect across much of northern South Carolina and western North Carolina.
A sign closing the road is posted around the Sunset Park neighborhood as Hurricane Helen makes its way toward Florida on Thursday in Tampa, Florida.
Jeffrey Wu/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Melvin Juarbe, right, tries to help an unidentified driver whose car was stuck in floodwaters caused by Hurricane Helen on Thursday in Madeira Beach, Florida. The men attempted to tow the car to dry ground with their pickup truck but chose to call AAA after several failed attempts.
Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Guests at the Magic Kingdom wear gowns at Cinderella Castle as weather bands from Hurricane Helen move through Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, on Thursday. All four Florida parks in Florida remained open Thursday as the storm passed to the west into the Gulf of Mexico.
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP
The St. Pete Pier is photographed amid high winds and waves as Hurricane Helen makes its way toward Florida, passing west of Tampa Bay, on Thursday in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Martha Asencio Ryan/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Flooded streets after Hurricane Helen in Madeira Beach, Florida, on Thursday.
Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Charles Starling, a lineman on Fishel’s team, soaks in the rain as he walks past a line of electric line trucks in a field in The Villages, Florida, on Thursday, preparing for damage from Hurricane Helen.
Stephen M. Doyle/Orlando Sentinel via AP
A man crosses a storm-swept area on the coast of Gulfport, Florida, as Hurricane Helen passed through the Gulf of Mexico to the west on Thursday.
Photo by Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Meanwhile, the Canadian government is urging its citizens who are in areas affected by the storm to “exercise caution.”
“The storm brought excessive rainfall and violent winds,” Canadian government travel advisory countries.
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It also warned of the possibility of flash floods and landslides that could disrupt essential services, such as transportation, energy distribution, water and food supplies, communications networks, emergency services, and medical care.
Residents fill sandbags at Helen Howarth Park ahead of Hurricane Helen’s possible arrival Wednesday in Pinellas Park, Florida.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Sharonda and Victor Davis, of Tallahassee, sit with their children Victoria, background left, and Amaya, background right, inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helen in Leon County, Florida, on Thursday.
AFP Photos/Gerald Herbert
Gulf of Mexico waters push ashore as Hurricane Helen barrels ashore Thursday in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Vehicles move slowly around downed trees after Hurricane Helen on Friday in Valdosta, Georgia.
AP Photo/Mike Stewart
Rhonda Bell looks on after an oak tree came down on her 100-year-old home after Hurricane Helen moved in on Friday in Valdosta, Georgia.
AP Photo/Mike Stewart
A 100-year-old home was seen damaged after an oak tree came down on it after Hurricane Helen moved through the area on Friday in Valdosta, Georgia.
AP Photo/Mike Stewart
Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina through a container across a flooded street during the passing of Hurricane Helen, in Batabano, Mayabique Province, Cuba, on Thursday.
AFP Photos/Ramon Espinoza
A man in a kayak uses a makeshift paddle as he travels through a flooded street during the passing of Hurricane Helen, in Batabano, Mayabique Province, Cuba, on Thursday.
AFP Photos/Ramon Espinoza
A woman carries a man’s back as he walks on a flooded street during the passing of Hurricane Helen, in Batabano, Mayapique province, Cuba, on Thursday.
AFP Photos/Ramon Espinoza
Residents walk through a street flooded by Hurricane Helen, in Batabano, Mayabeque Province, Cuba, on Thursday.
AFP Photos/Ramon Espinoza
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