Hurricane Helene was big, strong and fast, making it a near-perfect storm to bring widespread death and destruction to the American South.

Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 hurricane -- the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend on record.

At least 24 people have died across South Carolina after Hurricane Helene — one of the largest storms in decades — devastated the Southeastern United States, causing widespread flooding, damaging roads and homes and leaving more than 1 million without power.