Hurricane Helene live updates: 26 dead across the South

North Florida residents who are in evacuation zones should leave now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Thursday morning, since Hurricane Helene’s outer bands are quickly approaching the coast.

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management has partnered with Uber to provide free rides to shelters for Floridians under a state of emergency. Riders can use the code HeleneRelief, officials said.

At least 80 health care facilities -- including hospitals and nursing homes -- are evacuating, officials said.

One of the biggest hazards is falling trees, DeSantis said. He urged people to take cover if they hear trees cracking.

-ABC News’ Alex Faul

Hurricane Helene is forecast to bring six to 12 inches of rain, with isolated totals around 18 inches, to the Southeast.

The intense rainfall could cause "catastrophic and potentially life-threatening" flooding, the National Hurricane Center warned.

Helene is a large storm, so it could bring life-threatening storm surge for the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula.

Storm surge could reach 15 to 20 feet in the Florida Panhandle. The Tampa area could get 4 to 8 feet of storm surge.

Click here to read how storm surge works and why it's so dangerous.

Helene has strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph.

The storm will continue to strengthen throughout the day and is forecast to be a major hurricane by the time it makes landfall Thursday night.