Follow live updates on Helene here. Hurricane Helene forged a devastating path of floods and wind damage after slamming into Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday night, submerging much of the state’s Gulf Coast before continuing its destructive march through Georgia and into the mountains of Appalachia.

Tropical storm force winds began battering Florida on Thursday as Hurricane Helene prepared to make landfall, with forecasters warning that the enormous storm could create a “nightmare” surge along the coast and