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.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Massive Hurricane Helene crashed into Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region, bringing storm surge and high winds across the state’s Gulf Coast communities before ripping into southern Georgia.

Officials in North Carolina are urging residents of Lake Lure to evacuate as failure of the Lake Lure dam becomes "imminent."