Drone video takes to sky to show Florida community's devastation from Hurricane Helene's winds

Hurricane Helene packed 140-mph Category 4 winds and blew through Florida's Big Bend with catastrophic force Thursday.

Footage by USA TODAY Network-Florida photojournalist and drone pilot Greg Lovett shows boats thrown into buildings, docks smashed, roofs destroyed and more in storm-weary Steinhatchee, a small fishing village. The video was taken when the conditions calmed on Friday, and the aftermath is startling.

In Steinhatchee, a storm surge — the wall of seawater pushed ashore by winds — of eight to 10 feet moved mobile homes , the National Weather Service said on X.

The storm continued its wrath in the Southeast on Friday and Saturday.

How many people died in Hurricane Helene?

At least 43 people have died from incidents around Helene as of late Friday, according to authorities and media reports across the Southeast. Officials have said they expect the death toll to keep rising as they go door-to-door in the aftermath of the storm.

Where did Hurricane Helene make landfall?

Helene made landfall at about 11:10 p.m. ET Thursday near Perry, Florida, becoming the first known Category 4 storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since records began in 1851.

The storm continued its push across western Kentucky on Saturday , and is expected to slowly move southeast, then east along the Kentucky-Tennessee border through the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said .

What is the next hurricane after Helene?

Hurricane Isaac is out in the Atlantic now, and so is Tropical Storm Joyce. Neither seem to be a problem for the United States.

There is a system in the Western Caribbean that has forecasters concerned, but it's not expected to form until sometime next week when it's expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico. Anyone on the Gulf Coast should pay attention to that system.

The next named Atlantic tropical cyclone will be Kirk.

How to help storm victims

Cash is usually the best way to help people in the early going of disaster recovery. Here is a list of organizations that are suited to help. Always check before you donate.

Contributing: Michael Loria and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY ; and Reuters

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Drone video takes to sky to show Florida community's devastation from Hurricane Helene's winds