Hurricane Idalia: Hundreds of thousands of people left without power in Florida
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Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without power after Hurricane Idalia caused a trail of destruction across the US state of Florida.
Emergency crews have been working to rescue residents and clear debris after fierce winds and torrential rains caused widespread flooding, with some water levels two metres higher than normal.
Officials are calling Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall on Wednesday, the worst storm to hit the area in 100 years.
Idalia has now weakened into a tropical storm, after it passed through Florida and into the neighbouring state of Georgia - but people are being warned it still remains dangerous.
What's happened?
Before it reached the US, the hurricane had already caused extensive flooding in Cuba including parts of the capital Havana and knocked out power for about 200,000 people.
The storm then moved out over the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in the north of Florida before sweeping east across the state.
People in Cuba have been leaving their homes due to flooding caused by Hurricane Idalia
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said all eight of the state's urban search-and-rescue teams had been deployed, and more than 5,000 National Guardsmen were helping to clear roads of debris and thousands of repairmen were working to restore power.
It's thought that more than 225,000 people are still without power in Florida, along with another 230,000 people in the neighbouring state of Georgia.
President Joe Biden pledged his administration's full support on hurricane relief and recovery efforts.
How are hurricanes categorised?
Hurricane Idalia had been upgraded to a Category 4 after it made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region.
In the United States, hurricanes are classified on a scale of one to five with Category 5 being the most intense.
That's based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which looks at factors including the storm's sustained wind speed.
Storms reaching Category 3 and above are considered "major hurricanes" and significant weather events because of their potential for damage to property and loss of life.