CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm in a sparsely populated region of Florida, tearing the facades off buildings, trapping residents in rising floodwaters and knocking out power to millions of customers. At least five people were reported dead.

The storm made landfall late Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) in the rural Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and resort towns where Florida’s panhandle and peninsula meet.

Videos on social media sites showed rain clouds falling from buildings in Perry, Florida, near where the storm hit. A local news station showed a fallen house.

First responders were out in boats early Friday to rescue people trapped in flooding in Citrus County, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of Perry.

“If you are trapped and need assistance, please call rescuers – DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TREAD ACROSS WATER YOURSELF,” the sheriff’s office warned in a Facebook post. Authorities said the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.

Nearly 4 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina as of Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

One person died in Florida when a sign fell on their car, and two people were reportedly killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached. Trees falling onto homes have been blamed for deaths in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Anderson County, South Carolina.

The hurricane made landfall near the mouth of the Aucilla River on Florida’s Gulf Coast. That location was just about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of where Hurricane Idalia hit last year with almost the same ferocity, causing widespread damage.

As the eye of the hurricane passed near Valdosta, Georgia, a city of 55,000 near the Florida border, dozens of people crowded into a darkened hotel lobby early Friday. Outside the wind whistled and howled.

The power was out, emergency lights, flashlights and cell phones in the hallway provided the only lighting. Water dripped from light fixtures in the lobby dining area and roof debris fell to the ground outside.

Fermin Herrera, 20, his wife and their 2-month-old daughter left their room on the top floor of the hotel, where they sought shelter because they feared trees would fall on their Valdosta home.

“We heard a rumbling noise,” Herrera said as he rocked the sleeping baby in a downstairs hallway. “We didn’t see anything at first. After a while the intensity increased. It looked like a gutter hitting our window. So we decided to leave.”

In Thomas County, Georgia, where a curfew was in effect for residents, the sheriff’s office said it was extended until noon Friday.

“This curfew helps protect first responders and citizens of our community as conditions remain very dangerous. Please remain in place,” the office posted online.

Helene is the third storm to hit the city in just over a year. Tropical Storm Debby knocked out power for thousands of people in August, while Hurricane Idalia damaged an estimated 1,000 homes in Valdosta and surrounding Lowndes County a year ago.

“I feel like a lot of us now know what to do,” Herrera said. “We’ve seen some storms and they’ve gotten a little thicker.”

Shortly after landfall, Helene weakened into a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds falling to 70 mph (110 km/h). As of 5 a.m., the storm was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Macon, Georgia, and about 100 miles (165 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta and was moving at a speed of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h). North, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

Forecasters expected the system to weaken further as it moved into Tennessee and Kentucky, dropping heavy rain across the Appalachian Mountains, with the threat of mudslides and flash floods.

Even before landfall, the force of the storm was felt widely, with sustained tropical-storm-force winds and hurricane-force gusts along Florida’s west coast. Water flooded a road in Siesta Key near Sarasota and covered some intersections in St. Pete Beach. Wood and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago fell ashore in rising waters.

Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain had fallen in the mountains of North Carolina, with up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) more possible before the deluge ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything else seen in the last century.

“Please write your name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg with a permanent marker so you can be identified and your family notified,” the sheriff’s office in predominantly rural Taylor County warned those refusing to evacuate had decided, in a Facebook post, the dire advice similar to what other officials have given during previous hurricanes.

School districts and several universities have canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while there were widespread cancellations elsewhere in Florida and beyond.

A day before reaching the United States, Helene flooded parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, flooding roads and downing trees as it brushed past the resort town of Cancun and passed the coast. In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 households and businesses as she flew past the island.

At one point, forecasters feared hurricane conditions could extend as far as 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line. Nighttime curfews have been imposed in many cities and counties in South Georgia.

“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said.

For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst impact in a major southern city in 35 years, said Marshall Shepherd, a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia.

Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year due to record-warm ocean temperatures.

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Payne reported from Tallahassee, Florida, and Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Valdosta, Georgia; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.