Damage assessments and rescue operations are underway as the brunt of the storm hit the state’s Big Bend, also the landing site for Hurricane Idalia just over a year ago.

Hurricane Helene produced a record storm surge from around the Tampa metro northward through Florida’s Big Bend. The surge level was estimated to have reached over 10 feet in Cedar Key and caused significant damage along the coast.

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