As Hurricane Helene approached on the evening of Sept. 26, Southwest Florida faced dangerous flooding with rescue operations underway.

Hurricane Helene has made landfall in the Florida Big Bend, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on late on Thursday. Helene is located about 45 miles (70 km) east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida,

Long before its landfall late Thursday, Hurricane Helene and its intense wind and rain were already threatening millions of people in four states.

Florida state line as a Category 3 hurricane. Far to the east, Florida's Big Bend — where Hurricane Helene is expected to come ashore — never even felt tropical storm strength winds, but it was still hit with a mass of water that devasted coastal communities.