More than 900,000 homes and businesses in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas are without power in the wake of Hurricane Michael.
At least 11 deaths have been blamed on the storm, which is the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental US in over 50 years.
Michael has continued up the America’s southeast, dumping heavy rains and spreading flash flooding misery as far away as Virginia.
In North Carolina’s mountains, motorists had to be rescued from cars trapped by high water. High winds toppled trees and power lines.
President Donald Trump announced plans to visit Florida and hard-hit Georgia early next week but did not say what day he would arrive.
“We are with you!” he tweeted.
People have no idea how hard Hurricane Michael has hit the great state of Georgia. I will be visiting both Florida and Georgia early next week. We are working very hard on every area and every state that was hit – we are with you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2018
Flash flooding was also reported in the big North Carolina cities of Charlotte and Raleigh. Similar scenes played out in parts of Virginia as the storm raced seawards.
Families living along the Panhandle are now faced with a struggle to survive in a perilous landscape of shattered homes and shopping centres, the storm debris spread far and wide.
In one community, Panama City, most homes were still standing, but no property was left undamaged. Downed power lines and twisted street signs lay all around.
Aluminium siding was shredded and homes were split by fallen trees. Hundreds of cars had broken windows.
The hurricane damaged hospitals and nursing homes in Panama City, and officials worked to evacuate hundreds of patients.
Florida governor Rick Scott, called it “unimaginable destruction” and said: “So many lives have been changed forever. So many families have lost everything.”
We are working aggressively to get supplies to families in need. Food and water commodities are being airdropped into the hardest hit communities, and law enforcement are escorting resources on the road.
— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) October 12, 2018
A man outside Tallahassee, Florida, was killed by a falling tree and was the first of “four storm-related fatalities” announced by the Gadsden County Sheriff’s office.
An 11-year-old girl in Georgia died when Michael’s winds dropped debris through the roof of her grandparents’ home.
A driver in North Carolina was killed when a tree fell on his car.
.@FLGuard ‘s CERFP team performs a reconnaissance mission of Mexico Beach. See more from the #HurricaneMichael response: https://t.co/6DtNkJUI33 @fema pic.twitter.com/rngVaGqdQk
— National Guard (@USNationalGuard) October 12, 2018
Then, as Michael blew through Virginia as a tropical storm, authorities said five people there were killed, including four who drowned and a firefighter whose truck was struck by a tractor-trailer as he responded to an accident in heavy storm conditions.
Some fear the toll can only rise as rescue teams get around storm debris blocking roads and reach isolated areas.
