Hurricane Helene downgraded to tropical storm as it batters Atlantic coast

Hurricane Helene was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday morning after making landfall on Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday night in the Big Bend region of Florida. The storm left a wake of destruction along Florida’s Gulf Coast late Thursday night.

Multiple cities reported severe flooding due to the storm, and videos posted on social media showed houses floating away due to storm surge flooding. Surges were reported to rise as high as 9 feet in some areas. Nearly a million people were reported to have lost power in Florida because of Helene.