Hurricane Helene hits US states of Florida and Georgia

Nearly two million people are without power, after a strong hurricane hit the east coast of America.

Hurricane Helene reached windspeeds of 140 miles per hour, and authorities have declared a state of emergency and said that search and rescue services are helping people who need assistance.

The storm made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region - the strongest hurricane ever to do so.

Helene has now weakened to a tropical storm as it moves more inland over Georgia, according to the US National Hurricane Center where it's expected to bring fierce winds and more flooding.

What is a hurricane?

Hurricane Helene is the fifth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, when storms of this kind are more common. The hurricane season continues until the end of November.

Hurricanes are powerful storms which develop in warm tropical ocean waters.

In other parts of the world, they are known as cyclones or typhoons. Or referred to as "tropical cyclones".

Tropical cyclones are characterised by very high wind speeds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges - which is a temporary rise in sea-levels. This often causes lots of damage and flooding in areas where people live.

This satellite image shows Hurricane Helene over the Gulf of Florida

In the United States, hurricanes are classified on a scale of 1-5 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".