FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Massive Hurricane Helene crashed into Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region, bringing storm surge and high winds across the state’s Gulf Coast communities before ripping into southern Georgia.
The storm remained at hurricane strength as it crossed into southern Georgia, before weakening into a tropical storm as it approached Atlanta early Friday.
It left a wide swath of rising water, known as storm surge, across Florida's Gulf Coast.
First responders were rescuing stranded people from Tampa and St. Petersburg to Cedar Key and Perry, close to where Helene made landfall late Thursday.
