Hurricane Helene's rain caused significant flooding across southwest Florida Thursday.WGCU will update this list of road closures using communication and social media posts from local municipalities.

Some counties in Southwest Florida are opening safe havens for homeless people, and those who feel their homes may not be safe during Hurricane Helene. Sixty-three people stayed at two safe havens in Lee County from Wednesday through Thursday morning.

Counselors are available around the clock to respond to people who may be troubled by the effects of Hurricane Helene.

While most people are running from the dangers created by the massive Hurricane Helene, there are those who steer themselves into harm's way.While they aren't actually putting human lives in danger, the folks at Saildrone are putting their assets on the line by sailing equipment into the teeth of raging storms for their 2024 Hurricane Mission.

Free telehealth visits are available during the storm.

The warm Gulf of Mexico will be prime fuel before landfall and not much wind shear to keep this system from intensifying.

Floodwaters are risks to more than just buildings. They can hurt humans, too.The Florida Department of Health in Collier County (DOH-Collier) urges residents to be aware of the health risks associated with flooding. Skin contact with flood waters does not, by itself, pose a serious health risk. However, health hazards are a concern when waters are or become contaminated with bacteria or contain dangerous debris.

Florida counties are continuing to update orders for their residents to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Helene.Counties that have issued emergency mandatory evacuations for all their residents include Franklin, Taylor and Wakulla counties in the Big Bend region. Those counties include more than 72,000 people.Other counties have issued area-specific mandatory evacuations, according to Florida’s Division of Emergency Management.

As Hurricane Helene heads toward Florida, Lee County has updates about trash collection.

Some Charlotte County residents are making different decisions on whether to leave their homes in advance of tropical system Helene.The county is ordering some mandatory evacuations.