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.

Jerry and Marcia Savage's daughter told USA TODAY her late parents hugged so tightly in their Beech Island home, they had to be pulled apart.

Marcia, 74, and Jerry Savage, 78, were lying in bed at their house in Beech Island when the tree crashed down on their bedroom, their grandson John Savage told the Associated Press. “All you could see was ceiling and tree,” the 22-year-old, who was in the property at the time, said. “I was just going through sheer panic at that point.”

John Savage says he checked on his grandparents in their bedroom as Hurricane Helene roared outside This photo provided by Laurel Lindsay shows Marcia and Jerry Savage, who were killed by a tree that fell and crushed their bedroom during Hurricane Helene.

Owners of businesses damaged by Hurricane Helene contemplate how to move forward after losing their buildings, inventory.

The National Hurricane Center said Thursday Tropical Storm Leslie is likely to become a hurricane within the next couple of days.

As of Thursday morning, Kirk had maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 miles per hour. Kirk became a hurricane on Tuesday and further strengthened into a major hurricane only one d