ORLANDO, Fla. — Historic storm surges from Hurricane Helene inundated communities across the state’s Gulf Coast — and more than 2.5 million people across Florida lost power — as the massive Category 4 storm made landfall just after 11 p.m. Thursday on Dekle Beach in the state’s Big Bend region, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday morning.

“We saw storm surges in many parts of the west coast of Florida that exceeded what we saw in Hurricane Idalia, which took a similar track, was similar in strength, maybe a little bit weaker,” DeSantis said during the morning press conference in Tallahassee, referring to the August 2023 storm that slammed the same region. “It was really a historic storm surge in different parts of the state.”

Two deaths have been attributed to Helene, including a fatality in Florida’s Panhandle after a tree fell on a home in the Panhandle. The other person was killed when a sign fell on their car on Interstate 4 in Tampa.

“I pray that that’s it,” said DeSantis.

He added hundreds of emergency crews continue today to conduct search and rescue operations throughout the state, especially in the hardest hit areas in Columbia, Taylor and Hamilton counties.

Packing a punch of 140 mph sustained winds and racing at a speedy 23 mph, Helene jogged several miles east late Thursday from its original forecast path before slamming into a less populated area of Florida, DeSantis said. It missed an anticipated direct hit on Tallahassee, the state’s capital with more than 200,000 residents. The less populated area of the Big Bend is known for its fishing villages and vacation rentals.

Jared Perdue, secretary of Florida’s Department of Transportation, urged motorists to avoid driving on still-flooded roads.

“All up and down the coasts we still have a lot of roads underwater,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”

State inspectors today will continue examining for damage the large bridges across Tampa Bay, which were closed early Thursday as Helene moved northward in the Gulf of Mexico, Perdue said. The bridges — including the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway — will open “in due time,” he said.

DeSantis noted the breadth of Helene, which generated high winds covering nearly the entire peninsula of Florida. He noted how even the southeast Florida coast — nearly 300 miles away — saw significant storm surges.

But it was Florida’s Gulf Coast that took the brunt. In Cedar Key in Steinhatchee, a storm surge of up to 12 feet was reported. A video showed the high waters knocking homes off their foundations, and leaving them floating.

In Central Florida, more than 38,000 customers lost power during Thursday. Wind gusts of up to 67 mph were reported at Orlando International Airport, and 63 mph at Orlando Executive Airport overnight.

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