TO CLOSE

Aerial footage of a helicopter show some of the destruction caused by Hurricane Michael in Florida.
USA TODAY & # 39; HUI

The number of victims of Hurricane Michael has increased to 11 people in three states, five of which were reported Friday in Virginia, according to the state's emergency management department.

Less than two days after arriving on the Florida Panhandle, One of the most powerful hurricanes in US history, a Category 4 monster with violent winds cutting roofs of houses and buildings and breaking trees and utility poles, is far from the coast is Friday morning to jump into the Atlantic Ocean. tropical storm.

The powerful Michael said he lives in Florida, Georgia and Virginia.Four people drowned in Virginia and a firefighter from Hanover County passed away, reported the Associated Press. According to PowerOutage.US, nearly 1.5 million customers in five US states were without electricity early Friday morning.

The Hanover County Fire Department identified Lieutenant Brad Clark as a deceased firefighter. A semi-trailer truck hit his fire truck around 9 pm Thursday, while he was reacting to a collision of two vehicles on wet roads in a violent storm.

Steve Sweet, 44, and Sarah Radney, 11, were named other victims of the storm.

Sweet was killed in Gadsden County, Florida, near the border with Georgia, when a tree fell on his home. Radney, who was visiting her grandparents in Seminole County, Georgia, was killed when a portable carport went through the house and hit her in the head.

"Last night was hell," Radney's father Roy told the New York Times. "I'm an hour and a quarter, and my daughter is dying, and I can not do anything about it. I can not think of anything more related to hell than that. "

More: Stunning photos and videos of Michael's destruction path

More: How to help people on the way to Hurricane Michael

More: Hurricane Michael: Where's the storm, what we know about the damage

Michael's latest effects were felt in parts of Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina, where the National Hurricane Center warned of "prognostic" flooding. vital "and" strong winds, possibly causing damage ".

Michael's impact on the central South Atlantic states and the Carolinas will however be minor compared to his numerous destructions in the Florida Panhandle. Panama City, a popular retreat for spring break, and Mexico Beach, another upscale coastal location, were almost unrecognizable in the wake of Michael.

The owners of Panama City in St. Joseph returned to see the path of destruction caused by fierce winds.

Becky Daniel and his wife Monica Barber discovered the scattered remains of their demolished home on the shores of the Gulf near Mexico Beach. They evaluated the damage and kissed each other.

"It was our heart," Daniel told Florida Today. "He's just gone."

In the highly affected areas of Mexico Beach and Port St. Joseph, many houses have been reduced to stacks of wood, broken glass and household items. "I was sure it would be here," Daniel said. "We have just rebuilt that. We bought it four years ago and have completely rebuilt it. We are entrepreneurs. "

While residents of hard-hit communities have witnessed the aftermath of the storm, elected officials have promised swift action to recover.

"We will rebuild. We will come back stronger than ever. And we will do it together, "said Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum on Thursday night.

Florida Governor Rick Scott made an aerial tour of some of the affected areas on Thursday. A few hours later, he tweeted that he and his wife, Ann, were harboring 50 police officers from the Florida Highway Patrol in the governor's mansion. In another tweet, Scott thanked the Publix grocery chain for "generously donating food to these soldiers for dinner tonight."

Gillum was doing his part to help too. Lawrence Mower, a Tampa Bay Times reporter, tweeted a video of Gillum and his chief of staff using a chainsaw to clear a street on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Gillum's rival in the Florida governorship race, Ron DeSantis, has used two political rallies this week to collect donations for the storm's victims, Politico said. Sunshine State's governor since 2011, Scott is not seeking re-election, but is seeking a US Senate seat.

The recovery in Florida will take time – especially in Mexico Beach, where Michael touched down Wednesday afternoon.

On Twitter, Senator Marco Rubio described the scene in Mexico Beach as a "total devastation" and said the drone images produced "audible gasps" in an emergency operations center.

The US Coast Guard had saved about 40 people at 18:30. EDT Thursday and helped another 232 people, including 142 patients in retirement homes, according to a press release. Intervention teams also attempted to remove debris from the road to clear emergency service roads.

"The general public must remain cautious, even under ideal conditions, and be aware of the dangers, debris of storm surges and possible floods due to the hurricane," said the Coast Guard in a statement.

Michael was only the fourth major hurricane – categories 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale – to have crashed on the Florida Panhandle since 1950, joining Eloise (1975), Opal (1995) and Dennis (2005).

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Braun reported in Mexico Beach, Florida. Alltucker reported from McLean, Virginia. Kiggins brought back from Los Angeles, California.

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