Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday night as a Category 4 storm, bringing catastrophic storm surge and life-threatening winds to Florida's Big Bend region. In the Tampa Bay region, water rescues continued through the night in coastal areas.

A raging river of Gulf of Mexico water ripped through the heart of Madeira Beach just minutes after deputes blocked access to Pinellas County’s barrier islands at 6 p.m. Thursday. It would be dusk by the time these densely populated islands would start facing the peak of Hurricane Helene’s storm surge,

In Clearwater, one of the hardest-hit regions, water levels surged to a record 8.6 feet, eclipsing the previous high of 6.8 feet. Similarly, in East Bay, levels peaked at 7.3 feet, surpassing the old record of 6.7 feet.