A second person has been killed by Hurricane Michael, according to authorities. In Seminole County, Georgia, an 11-year-old girl was killed when a portable carport fell on her home amid the worst storm “in a century” to hit the region, authorities told US media.
It follows the death of a man in Florida who also died when a tree hit his house. Michael has caused widespread damage, leaving more than 700,000 homes and businesses without power across three states and even blowing a train off its tracks in Florida with winds up to 155mph, according to reports.
The National Hurricane Centre is now categorising Michael as a tropical storm with sustained winds of 50mph. It is moving northeast at about 20mph as it continues to weaken over central Georgia, the agency said in its latest advisory note.
Florida Governor Rick Scott says that his state's panhandle and gulf coast woke up to "unimaginable destruction" after Hurricane Michal smashed into the state yesterday.
Mr Scott made the comment during a briefing at the state Emergency Operations Centre in Tallahassee.
"So many lives have been changed forever. So many families ahve lost everything. Homes are gone. Businesses are gone," Mr Scott said. " Roads and infrastructure along the storm's path have been destroyed. This hurricane was an absolute monster, and the damage left in its wake has yet to be fully understood".
Mr Scott noted that he plans on touring impacted areas with the National Guard, and warned residents not to return to impacted areas just yet
"I know what I'm going to see today is way worse than I would ever have imagined," Mr Scott said.
The National Hurricane Centre is planning on broadcasting a Facebook Live to discuss the impact of Hurricane Michael, in 20 minutes.
The latest update from the National Hurricane Centre says that Hurricane Michael is now bringing heavy rains and tropical-force winds to the Carolinas.
The 11am update indicated that Michael will continue to move across the eastern and central portions of North Carolina throughout the day, before moving through southeastern Virginia evening, and then finally making its way into the Atlantic Ocean overnight.
That update indicated that the storm was about 35 miles southeast of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Parts of North and South Carolina can expect between 4 and 7 inches of rain, while isolated areas of North Carolina and Virginia can expect as much as 9 inches of rain.
As the day goes on, we are beginning to see just how devastating Hurricane Michael was when it hit into the Florida panhandle on Wednesday.
CNN's Brooke Baldwin, flying in a helicopter above Panama City, said that the city is "gone" after the storm hit the area.
"It’s gone… it’s obliterated… I’ve never seen anything like this… I have no words”, Baldwin said.
CNN on Twitter
Twitter“CNN’s @BrookeBCNN is in a helicopter flying over Mexico Beach, Florida, getting a look at one of the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Michael: “It’s gone… it’s obliterated… I’ve never seen anything like this… I have no words” https://t.co/sFUNF4n8aS https://t.co/lPpgc0IsWw”
Authorities in Mexico Beach, an area littered with small beach towns, said nearly 300 residents ignored evacuation orders in the build up to the climax of the storm. It is currently not known whether these people remained in the area when the storm hit.
Areas such as Panama City and Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle have seen huge destruction. Florida Governor Rick Scott said: "I think everything from Panama City down to Mexico Beach is way worse than anybody ever anticipated". Michael's eye came ashore near Mexico Beach, about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Panama City.
"This is going to be a long recovery but Florida is resilient, we help each other, and we survive," Scott said. "We worked all night in endangered circumstances."
The scene inside a motel office in Panama City, Florida, which saw widespread devastation after being hit by Hurricane Michael's storm surge.
Here is the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Centre:
Authorities are correcting earlier reports about the death of an 11-year-old girl in Georgia. Seminole County Emergency Management Agency director Travis Brooks said it wasn't a tree but a carport that hit her home and killed her.
He said strong winds picked up a portable carport Wednesday and dropped it down on the roof. One of the carport's legs punctured the roof and hit the 11-year-old girl in the head.
Mr Brooks said he wasn't able to get out much overnight to fully assess the damage in the county, because downed power lines and trees made roads impassable in the darkness. But he said the sheriff told him it looked like a bomb had gone off.
AP
Michael now has sustained winds of about 50mph, making it a tropical storm. It is currently moving over South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
Nearly 700,000 homes and businesses have been left without power in the wake of the storm. Crews are currently working to restore electricity across the southern states.
Search and rescue missions are now underway in Mexico Beach, Florida, which was wiped out by Hurricane Michael's storm surge.
"We have a lot of work to do ... there's a lot of debris that we've got to get through," FEMA administrator William Long said. "We're trying to get into areas like Mexico Beach, get the teams in to be able to assess damage."
People cut away a tree that fell on a vehicle in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Florida.
Mr Scott is on his way to the Gulf Coast to survey some of the damage.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has a message for the residents of his state: “You survived this unbelievable storm; stay safe.”
There are downed power lines and downed trees “all over the place,” Mr Scott said on CNN, noting that there was “unbelievable devastation.”
“Stay in your house, listen to the locals, be safe — don’t do anything foolish,” said Mr Scott.
The National Hurricane Centre has issued a fresh advisory notice.
Here are a few details:
• Michael is currently about 40 miles west-northwest of Columbia, South Carolina, with sustained winds of 50mph. It is moving northeast at 21mph and is expected to speed up later in the day
• Tropical storm-force winds are currently affecting southeastern Georgia and central and eastern South Carolina. Such winds extend about 160 miles from the centre
• "On the forecast track, the centre of Michael will continue to move across central South Carolina this morning, then move across portions of central and eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia this afternoon and this evening, and move into the Atlantic Ocean by late tonight or early Friday"
• The previous warning of life-threatening flash floods in some areas remains
A new warning from Rick Scott, the governor of Florida
And meteorologist Ginger Zee gave an idea of the damage caused by the storm
Parts of Florida have been left "unlivable" by the hurricane, locals say.
"The wind that came through here was surreal. It destroyed everything," Jason Gunderson, a member of the Cajun Navy, a group of rescue workers, told CNN early on Thursday from Callaway, a suburb of Panama City in the Florida Panhandle. "It's unlivable. It's heartbreaking."
One man who decided to stay at home to weather the hurricane has said he was forced to admit to himself it might have been the wrong choice.
Joey Morrison, a 30-year-old glass worker, said Michael hit his apartment door in Panama City Beach so hard with its 155mph winds that he had to reinforce it by drilling in screws - and still had to sit against the door to keep it shut.
"I got scared enough that I was thinking, 'I should have left' Because this isn't like anything that ever happened here," Mr Morrison said.
After daylight on Thursday residents of north Florida would just be beginning to take stock of the enormity of the disaster.
Damage in Panama City near where Michael came ashore on Wednesday afternoon was so extensive that broken and uprooted trees and downed power lines lay nearly everywhere.
The storm was due to pass over the Carolinas on Thursday, just weeks after the states were battered by Hurricane Florence’s torrential rain.
During a campaign rally in Pennsylvania Donald Trump promised to visit Florida “very soon”, adding that “we will always pull through” and offering his “thoughts and prayers” to those affected.
Additional reporting by agencies
