Photos show flooding and destruction as Hurricane Helene slams Florida, leaving over 2 million homes and businesses without power

The storm made landfall near the Aucilla River around 11:10 p.m. ET with 140 mph winds, the Associated Press reported Friday, citing the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida urged residents to seek shelter indoors and off the roads.

“It just shows you that it’s very dangerous conditions out there. You need to be, right now, just hunkering down,” DeSantis said on Thursday.

At least one person was killed in Tampa after a sign fell on their car, Gov. DeSantis said during a Thursday press conference.

“We know that travel on the roads can be hazardous, and we typically, unfortunately, will have fatalities in every storm from that,” said Gov. Desantis. “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.”

Over 1.2 million homes and businesses in Florida lost power, according to poweroutage.us, a utilities-tracking website. At 5:30 a.m. ET on Friday, more than 2.5 million customers in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida were without power.

Major airports, including Tampa International and St. Pete-Clearwater, shut down on Thursday, while Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports stayed open but faced hundreds of delays and cancellations, CBS News reported Thursday.

Many schools, such as those in Broward and Monroe Counties, and universities, like the University of Florida and Florida State University, canceled classes through Friday. Businesses across Florida, including Tampa’s city offices, closed as well, with plans to reopen once it is safe, CBS News reported Thursday.

During a press conference Thursday night in Tallahassee, DeSantis said that Southwest Florida and the Tampa Bay area had experienced significant flooding and that emergency services were on standby to help restore the city services once the storm clears.

Tallahassee Police said in a Friday X post that they have increased staffing levels and activated chainsaw crews to assist with emergencies as Hurricane Helene impacts the area.

16 Georgia counties remain on tornado watch as of press time, according to the National Weather Service on Friday,

The governors of Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, and Virginia have all declared states of emergency, the AP reported Friday.

Two were killed at press time in south Georgia at press time, due to a possible tornado, NBC News reported, citing a Wheeler County official.