Florida girds for arrival of 'catastrophic' Hurricane Helene

Helene strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico and is "expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains to a large portion of Florida and the Southeastern United States," the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said. 

Helene is expected to be a major hurricane when it reaches the Florida Big Bend coast Thursday evening," the NHC added.The storm now has the potential to roar ashore as an intensely powerful Category 4 hurricane, potentially with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour."

The Florida Governor has issued a state of emergency for nearly all of Florida's 67 counties. He said at least 62 health care facilities, from hospitals to nursing homes, have already begun evacuations.