Hurricane death toll rises

MEXICO BEACH, Fla. — The death toll a week after Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida panhandle rose to at least 30 Thursday, as authorities in Florida confirmed 20 storm-related deaths.

The storm, which struck with 155-mph winds on Oct. 10, retained hurricane-force winds as far inland as southern Georgia and affected the Carolinas and Virginia. Six deaths were reported in Virginia, mostly from flash flooding. North Carolina had three deaths, and Georgia had one.

Across the region, residents continued picking up the pieces Thursday. Power is still out in much of the panhandle where thousands of buildings are destroyed or damaged.

Residents among the community of about 1,200 people who rode out the storm have been in Mexico Beach since Michael hit, but officials used the city’s Facebook page to tell others who evacuated to stay away.

In the meantime, in many areas devastated by the hurricane, law enforcement officials are battling looting of homes and businesses. Mexico Beach residents aren’t expecting electricity to be restored anytime soon.

Carlton Hundley, 25, returned to the house he rented to find nothing but a pile of shattered wood. What few possessions he found, including one of his shoes, were scattered across the ground.

“I knew it was bad, I’d already seen the pictures. But it’s a lot more than I thought,” he said.

AP/GERALD HERBERT Aleeah Racette receives medical treatment Thursday inside the Florida 5 Disaster Medical Assistance Team tent outside the Bay Medical Sacred Heart hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla.

AP/GERALD HERBERT Robert Edmonson rests Wednesday after pulling a dolly through sand as he helps salvage belongings from his brother-in-law’s hurricane-destroyed home in Mexico Beach, Fla.