Hurricane leaves trail of devastation, death
HURRICANE Michael slammed into Florida with terrifying winds of 250kmh yesterday, splintering homes and submerging neighbourhoods before continuing its destructive charge inland.
At least one person died as the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental US in nearly 50 years wreaked havoc.
Supercharged by abnormally warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the category 4 storm crashed ashore near Mexico Beach, a tourist town about midway along the Florida Panhandle, a 320km stretch of white-sand beach resorts, fishing towns and military bases.
After it ravaged the Panhandle, Michael barrelled into south Georgia as a category 3 hurricane – the most powerful recorded for that part of the neighbouring state.
In north Florida, Michael battered the shoreline with sideways rain, powerful gusts and crashing waves, swamping streets and docks, flattening trees, shredding awnings and peeling away shingles. It set off transformer explosions and knocked out power to more than 388,000 homes and businesses.
A Panhandle man was killed by a tree that toppled on a home, Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anglie Hightower said.
Damage in Panama City was extensive, with broken and uprooted trees and power lines down nearly everywhere. Roofs were peeled off and homes split open by fallen trees. Twisted street signs lay on the ground. Residents emerged in the early evening to assess damage when rains stopped, though skies were still overcast and windy.
Vance Beu, 29, was staying with his mother at her apartment, Spring Gate Apartments, a small complex of single-storey wood frame apartment buildings. A pine tree punched a hole in their roof and he said the roar of the storm sounded like a jet engine as the winds accelerated. Their ears even popped as the barometric pressure dropped.
“It was terrifying, honestly. There was a lot of noise. We thought the windows were going to break at any time. We had the inside windows kind of barricaded in with mattresses,” Mr Beu said.
President Donald Trump said, “God bless everyone because it’s going to be a rough one,” he said. “A very dangerous one.”
His office said he would tour the areas next week.