A residents tells the BBC her family had to swim out of home as floodwaters from Helene rose to their shoulders.

In Clearwater, one of the hardest-hit regions, water levels surged to a record 8.6 feet, eclipsing the previous high of 6.8 feet. Similarly, in East Bay, levels peaked at 7.3 feet, surpassing the old record of 6.7 feet.

The wait for Hurricane Helene’s landfall is over. Residents of Florida’s Big Bend region confronted a near-midnight landfall of the Category 4 storm late Thursday. By early Friday morning, nearly 1 million Floridians were without power.