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Hurricane Helene live updates: 34 dead in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina
Flash flood emergencies are ongoing in multiple states.
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 depression and is now pushing through Georgia and the Carolinas, bringing catastrophic rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding as the storm moves toward Tennessee.
Latest headlines:
President Biden warns Hurricane Helene could be 'significant and deadly'
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."
Red Cross calls for blood donations ahead of Hurricane Helene
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.
Harris addresses Hurricane Helene: 'Take this storm very seriously'
Vice President Kamala Harris began a White House event on gun violence Thursday by first addressing Hurricane Helene, forecast to make landfall in Florida tonight.
"The president and I, of course, are monitoring the case and the situation closely, and we urge everyone who is watching at this very moment to take this storm very seriously and please follow the guidance of the local officials," Harris said.
Harris said she and President Biden will continue working with state and local officials "to ensure that everyone is safe and to protect communities before, during and after the storm," Harris said.
Hurricane Helene still on track to become Category 4 storm at landfall
Helene is still expected to be a hazardous Category 4 hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida Thursday between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET, with winds of at least 130 mph.
Currently a Category 3 hurricane, Helene's maximum sustained winds have increased to 125mph with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is likely to continue leading up to landfall.
At 5:00 p.m. ET, Helene was located 130 miles west of Tampa and 175 miles south of Tallahassee.
Helene is a very large storm with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm force winds extending outward up to 310 miles from the center.
-ABC News' Melissa Griffin