Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane about 11:10 p.m. ET near Perry, Florida, with 140 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center reported. At least 22 fatalities have been blamed on the hurricane so far, authorities said. Officials feared more fatalities would be discovered on Friday.

By Rich McKay, Brendan O'Brien and Andrew Hay (Reuters) -Driving rain flooded roadways and closed airports in Florida as an intensifying Hurricane Helene marched toward the state's panhandle region, bringing the threat of a potentially deadly storm surge to much of the coastline.