'I need to go': Floridians make final preparations for Hurricane Helene

Tallahassee (United States) (AFP) – Across the northern Florida coast, most small towns were deserted on Thursday, with stores closed and windows boarded up to protect against the high winds and potentially devastating storm surge of Hurricane Helene.

The storm was hours away from hitting the US state's "Big Bend" region, with the area from the Florida capital Tallahassee to the Gulf of Mexico coast at particular risk, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

While many heeded evacuation orders...