PANAMA CITY: Tropical Storm Michael took its drenching rains to Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday after devastating Florida’s Panhandle, killing at least two people, reducing homes to rubble and ripping up power lines and tree.
Michael crashed ashore on Wednesday near the small town of Mexico Beach as the third most powerful hurricane ever to strike the US mainland, carrying winds of up to 155 miles per hour (250 kilometres per hour) and causing deep seawater flooding.
In large areas of Mexico Beach, homes were obliterated or reduced to stacks of rubble, aerial video from CNN showed on Thursday.
Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called the town “ground zero” for the hurricane damage.
One objective as recovery got under way was to help people who could be trapped in various areas along the coast, he told a news conference.
In Panama City, 32 km northwest of Mexico Beach, buildings were crushed and boats were scattered around. Michael had left a trail of utility wires on roads, flattened tall pine trees and knocked a steeple from a church.
Al Hancock, 45, who works on a tour boat, survived in Panama City with his wife and dog.
“The roof fell in but we lived through it,” he said.
Florida Governor Rick Scott told the Weather Channel the damage from Panama City down to Mexico Beach was “way worse than anybody ever anticipated.”
It was not yet known what had happened to about 280 residents of Mexico Beach who authorities said had ignored evacuation orders as the storm approached the state’s northwest.
The area is known for its small beach towns, wildlife reserves and the state capital, Tallahassee.
Michael was a Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale, just shy
of a rare Category 5, when it came ashore. It weakened steadily as it travelled inland over the Panhandle.
By 8 am EDT (1200 GMT) Thursday it had been downgraded to a tropical storm with 50-mph (85-kph) winds as it pushed through Georgia into the Carolinas, the National Hurricane Centre said.
Parts of North Carolina and Virginia could get as much as 9 inches of rain and life-threatening flash floods, the NHC said. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
