The third most powerful hurricane on record to hit the U.S. mainland has caused widespread damage in several southern states. It also led to at least two deaths.
Hurricane Michael struck land in northern Florida Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds up to 250 kilometers per hour. On Thursday, Michael weakened to a tropical storm - with winds of about 80 kilometers per hour - as it kept moving northeast.
Weather officials believe the storm will pass over North and South Carolina before heading out to the Atlantic Ocean in coming days.
Effects of the storm
One man was killed when a tree fell onto his house outside Tallahassee, Florida. In southwest Georgia, an 11-year-old girl died after debris from the storm hit her home.
More than 700,000 homes and businesses were left without power in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Thousands spent the night in shelters after fleeing their homes to escape the storm.
Television footage showed flooding and destruction in the small Florida town of Mexico Beach, where the storm first made landfall. Many homes were shown covered with floodwaters up to their roofs. Wood and metal from destroyed buildings covered streets and moved through flooded neighborhoods.
A number of buildings were destroyed or left without roofs in nearby Panama City, Florida. Empty streets were covered with storm debris, fallen trees and downed power lines, the Associated Press reported. The storm left hundreds of cars with broken windows, the AP said. Many of the cars had been moved by the wind.
Brock Long leads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. He said Michael was the most intense hurricane to strike that part of Florida since record keeping began in 1851.
Overall, Michael was the third strongest storm on record to strike the U.S. mainland. Only Hurricane Camille on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1969 and the unnamed Labor Day hurricane of 1935 in Florida were more intense.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about the storm on Wednesday night. He offered his “thoughts and prayers” to those in its path. He said he would be visiting Florida soon.
Rick Scott is the governor of Florida. He said about 3,500 Florida National Guard troops and more than 1,000 search and rescue experts had been activated. The U.S. Defense Department sent an additional 2,200 military troops to the area, along with helicopters and water rescue vehicles. Scott promised his government would do everything it can to help communities suffering effects from the storm.
Even though Michael’s winds had eased, the storm was still expected to drop heavy rain across many parts of the U.S. East Coast, leading to possible flooding.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
In this image made from video and provided by SevereStudios.com, damage from Hurricane Michael is seen in Mexico Beach, Fla. on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. Search-and-rescue teams fanned out across the Florida Panhandle to reach trapped people in Michael's wake Thursday as daylight yielded scenes of rows upon rows of houses smashed to pieces by the third-most powerful hurricane on record to hit the continental U.S. (SevereStudios.com via AP)
A boat sits amidst debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Rescue personnel search amidst debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People cut away a tree that'll on a vehicle in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A storm chaser climbs into his vehicle during the eye of Hurricane Michael to retrieve equipment after a hotel canopy collapsed in Panama City Beach, Florida, Oct. 10, 2018.
Dorian Carter looks under furniture for a missing cat after several trees fell on their home during Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018.
Megan Williams, left, and roommate Kaylee O'Brian take belongings from their destroyed home after several trees fell on the house during Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018.
Derailed box cars are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018.
Shredded trees, derailed train cars and a sunken trailer are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018.
Palm trees bend during Hurricane Michael in Panama City Beach, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018.
Waves crash along a pier as Hurricane Michael approaches Panama City Beach, Florida, Oct. 10, 2018.
Storm damage after Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018. Michael slammed into the Florida coast as the most powerful storm to hit the southern U.S. state in more than a century.
Emily Hindle lies on the floor at an evacuation shelter set up at Rutherford High School, in advance of Hurricane Michael, which made landfall, in Panama City Beach, Fla., Oct. 10, 2018.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.
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Words in This Story
debris - n. broken pieces of something
