Hurricane Helene live updates: 1 dead in Florida as Category 4 storm makes landfall

Hurricane Helene has officially made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a major Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds.

The storm touched down near Perry, Florida, just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River.

This marks the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida's Big Bend Region since at least 1859.

There are over 970,000 customers without power in Florida, according to poweroutages.us.

The number of people losing power in Florida Thursday night is rising rapidly as Hurricane Helene approaches landfall.

As of 11 p.m. ET, more than 800,000 customers were without power in Florida, according to poweroutages.us.

Category 4 Hurricane Helene is closing in on landfall, which will likely happen within the hour. Winds remain sustained at 140 mph with gusts to 155 mph in the eye wall of this storm.

Helene is producing catastrophic winds that will be spreading onshore in Florida's Big Bend region over the next few hours.

Major flooding is happening as of 10 p.m. ET in the Tampa area, with over six feet of inundation.

"This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation," the National Hurricane Center said in an alert Thursday.

"Persons should not leave their shelters and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions," the statement concluded.

As of 10 p.m. ET, nearly 700,000 customers have lost power in Florida as Hurricane Helene nears landfall, according to poweroutage.us.

Tens of thousands more are without power in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.