In pictures: Hurricane Helene closes in on Gulf Coast

 Hurricane Helene is already lashing Florida as it continues to intensify and track north toward Florida’s Big Bend. Thousands of Florida residents have already been forced to evacuate and nearly the entire state is under alerts.

Here are some images from today as the storm continues its approach.

A man walks through a flooded Times Square area of Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Thursday, September 26.

Andrew West/The News-Press/USA Today Network/Imagn Images

Cynthia Centeno, a Tallahassee resident, sits with her family inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School in Leon County, Florida, on Thursday. 

Gerald Herbert/AP

Waves from the Gulf of Mexico crash on the shore in St. Pete Beach, Florida. 

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

People work at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday. 

Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images

See more photos here.