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.

Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida's Big Bend region late Thursday, bringing catastrophic storm surges which have destoyed buildings. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of unprecedented levels of flooding,

Hurricane Helene’s violent winds are causing a storm surge, which is how high the water rises above normal levels, with predictions of up to 20 feet along Florida’s Big Bend.

Hurricane Helene has been upgraded to a category three storm, with wind speeds of up to 120mph (195 km/h) forecast The dangerous storm is expected to make landfall in the Florida Big Bend on Thursday Authorities warn it could bring a "catastrophic" and "unsurvivable" storm surge,

By Rich McKay, Brendan O'Brien and Andrew Hay (Reuters) -Driving rain flooded roadways and closed down airports in Florida as an intensifying Hurricane Helene marched toward the state's Panhandle region,

Hurricane Helene is already causing storm surges in parts of Florida's Gulf of Mexico coast. Officials are warning the Big Bend area could see surges that may be unsurvivable, potentially reaching 20 feet.

Helene is expected to be a major hurricane — meaning a Category 3 or higher — when it makes landfall on Florida's northwestern coast Thursday evening.