Officials Tell Floridians Riding Out Helene: ID Your Bodies

A grim suggestion was given to Floridians under evacuation orders who chose to ride out Hurricane Helene rather than heed the orders: Authorities asked them to mark their bodies with their information so they could be easily identified, should the worst come to pass. "Take a black Magic Marker, write your name, your Social Security number, everything on your arm," said the Taylor County sheriff, per NBC News. Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, as a Category 4 storm Thursday night with sustained winds of 140mph, CNN reports. By the time the National Hurricane Center issued its 1am Friday update, it had weakened to a Category 2 storm with winds of 110mph as it moved toward southern Georgia.

Despite the weakening, officials urged residents to continue hunkering down. "This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation," the NHC said. "Persons should not leave their shelters and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions. When in the eye, people are reminded to not venture out in the relative calm, as hazardous winds will increase very quickly when the eye passes." The death toll is at least three so far, two in Georgia who were killed in an apparent tornado, and one in Florida when a sign fell onto a car driving on the interstate. Millions are without power. (More Hurricane Helene stories.)