Hurricane Helene live updates: 43 dead across the South

Hospitals in the path of Hurricane Helene are preparing for the storm to make landfall.

In Florida, Tampa General Hospital said in a statement Thursday afternoon that two hospitals were closed and evacuated and other facilities were closed.

"Due to the conditions expected, and for the safety of our patients and our team members, we have closed TGH Crystal River and the TGH Crystal River Emergency Center," the Tampa General Hospital statement said. "Patients who could safely go home were discharged and patients in need of continuing care were transferred to other locations in the region. We plan to reopen on Friday, September 27, as soon as it is safe for our team members to travel."

Hospitals in the Tallahassee and Atlanta areas also said they would close in preparation for the storm.

HCA Healthcare’s Florida division website lists 12 hospitals with restrictions as of Thursday evening, including notices that it has suspended services and relocated patients to other facilities in the state from at least two hospitals: West Tampa Hospital and Pasadena Hospital.

Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, told ABC news that there have been at least six hospitals so far that have been evacuated in Florida due to Hurricane Helene.

As Hurricane Helene nears landfall in Florida, the storm has grown to Category 4 strength with 130 mph winds.

President Joe Biden addressed the dangerous conditions Hurricane Helene poses on its track to make landfall Thursday.

"Take this seriously. I -- from the bottom of my heart -- please take it seriously, anybody listening to this," Biden said during a White House event on gun violence.

"The tendency is to say, 'I can do this,' but you can't. Twenty-foot storm surge. You can't," Biden added.

Officials have forecast inundation from Hurricane Helene could reach as high as 20 feet in Florida's Big Bend region.

Biden also warned about the storm surge beyond just the path of the hurricane.

"The potential of storm surge is well beyond the immediate path [of] the hurricane; [it] could be significant and deadly," Biden added. "You know, for you and your family's sakes, I urge everyone in and near the path of the hurricane to listen to local officials and follow evacuation orders and be told to do so."

After blood shortages in August, the American Red Cross told ABC News the organization's blood supply is no longer at emergency levels, but encouraged people in areas unaffected by Hurricane Helene to donate.

Ahead of the storm's landfall in Florida, the Red Cross sent hundreds of blood products to Florida, and distributed blood products to ensure blood remains available for patients in the affected areas.

"Our immediate concern is the potential interruption of our blood collection efforts in the Southeast due to Hurricane Helene. We anticipate a number of blood drives in the impacted areas to be canceled or otherwise affected in the coming days, disrupting our ability to collect necessary and lifesaving blood products," a Red Cross spokesperson told ABC News.

"We really need people in unaffected areas to step up and donate blood to help make up for the uncollected donations that will result from Hurricane Helene," the spokesperson added.