Footage shows swamped neighbourhoods as Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida –video

Hurricane Helene made landfall along the Florida coast on Thursday night as a powerful and potentially disastrous category 4 storm, bringing chaos to a wide swathe of the Gulf coast and threatening high winds, storm surges and drenching rainfall. Helene was located about 70km east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 225km/h, the Miami-based UA National Hurricane Center said late on Thursday. The huge storm formed rapidly this week and strengthened as it careened across the warm waters of the Gulf, gathering speed. The National Hurricane Center has said Helene is now a tropical storm as it moves farther inland over Georgia but noted that 'life-threatening storm surges, winds and heavy rains continue'

• Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida as powerful category 4 storm