A resident of Panacea, a community south of Tallahassee near the Gulf of Mexico, Ford was among people moving further inland as Hurricane Helene is forecast to crash into North Florida on Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.

PANACEA, Fla. – In his 58 years, John Posey, a lifelong resident of the Forgotten Coast of Florida on the remote eastern edge of the Panhandle, had never evacuated for a hurricane – neither for Dennis in 2005, nor for Michael in 2018.

The region has endured two other hurricanes recently, but many more people appeared to be evacuating this time, leaving their small coastal towns eerily empty.

At least 22 deaths have been reported and millions are without power in six states as Helene makes its way inland.

Hurricane Helene has made landfall in the Florida Big Bend, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on late on Thursday. Helene is located about 45 miles (70 km) east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida,

Hurricane Helene's landfall was near Perry, Florida. In the aftermath, officials start rescues, assessing storm damage in Steinhatchee, Big Bend.

Now that Helene has weakened, the National Hurricane Center is tracking Isaac, Joyce and 2 other systems. One is near the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 2 million customers in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas were in the dark as the Helene moved inland from Florida's Gulf Coast.