Hurricane Helene intensified into a major Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph making landfall Thursday night bringing devastating winds and storm surge to Florida’s Big Bend, according to the

A catastrophic and deadly storm surge is likely along portions of the Florida Big Bend coast, where inundation could reach as high as 20 feet.

Victims caught by the surge get battered by rough seas and debris, often drowning in the rising flood. Research of hurricanes hitting the U.S. mainland over the last half-century showed storm surges are responsible for about half of 2,