Storm causes 3.5m power outages after category 4 storm hits Florida and moves to Georgia and Carolinas

• Hurricane Helene – live updates

Helene has reportedly killed at least six people and inflicted about 3.5m power outages across the south-eastern US after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane, according to officials.

The storm – which registered maximum sustained winds of 140mph – had weakened to a tropical storm over Georgia early on Friday, when residents whose communities experienced Helene’s peak effects more directly were only just beginning to fathom the recovery process ahead.