Flash flood emergencies are in effect in Georgia and the Carolinas.
Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 hurricane -- the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend on record.
Helene has since weakened to a tropical storm and is now pushing through Georgia and the Carolinas, bringing catastrophic rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding as the storm moves toward Tennessee.
About 200 people have been rescued overnight from the rising floodwaters in Pasco County, Florida, just north of Tampa, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.
The water is receding Friday morning and rescue calls have slowed, authorities said.
Hurricane Helene was downgraded to a tropical storm around 100 miles southeast of Atlanta early on Friday, as its sustained wind speed slowed to 70 mph.
Life-threatening winds, flash flooding, rain and storm surge are ongoing through Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Helene is expected to slow and weaken as it travels north-northwest through Georgia toward the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the National Hurricane Center said.
Helene is projected to turn post-tropical on Friday afternoon or Friday night, the NHC said.
"However, the fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States, including over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians," the NHC said.
-ABC News' Max Golembo
Members of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Fire Rescue were working through the night and into the early morning responding to water rescue calls along the US-19 corridor on Florida’s Gulf coast.
As of 3:30 a.m. ET, the Pasco Sheriff's Office said a total of 65 people were rescued, with additional efforts ongoing.
Emergency services received more than 100 calls for assistance due to flooding, the Pasco Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook.
-ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway
The center of Hurricane Helene is projected to pass east of Macon, Georgia, after 3 a.m. ET, according to the latest forecast.
Hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings remain in effect through the early morning hours of Friday.
The storm is expected to slow and weaken on Friday, turning northwestward to move through Georgia toward the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the National Hurricane Center said.
-ABC News’ Richard Von Ohlen
