Tropical Storm Helene clobbered the Midlands of South Carolina, including Forest Acres and West Columbia with more than million people without power on Friday

Trees are down, power is out and businesses are reporting closures and late starts in the aftermath of the storm

Helene weakened to a tropical storm Friday as it barreled across Georgia, pummeling the Southeast with flooding rain, strong winds and storm surge.

Helene -- which was downgraded to a tropical storm early on Friday -- made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida with 140 mph winds.

Millions in US are waking up without power after Helene made landfall as a category 4 hurricane in Florida. A sailor and his dog were rescued from the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday during the storm after their boat became disabled and took on water 25 miles from Sanibel Island,

Weakening to a tropical storm as it moved through Georgia, Helene threatened to bring “catastrophic” storm surges to much of the Gulf Coast, officials said. At least four people were killed.