[ad_1]
Posted at 18h13 ET on 12 October 2018 |
It's hard to grasp the scale of the damage caused by Hurricane Michael, but these numbers help put things in perspective.
USA TODAY & # 39; HUI
William Gay pauses while helping a friend find his personal belongings in the Panama City, Florida hair salon after Hurricane Michael caused extensive damage. October 12, 2018. (Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE, USA TODAY network)
One of the most powerful hurricanes in US history has moved out of the ground, leaving a trail of destruction.
Michael landed Wednesday in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph. When measured by his barometric pressure, Michael was the third hurricane to have landed in the United States. Strong winds, rains and flash floods have been felt in many states as far north as Virginia.
In just two days, he killed people, destroyed buildings, destroyed power lines and destroyed communities.
"So many lives have been changed forever. So many families have lost everything, "said Florida Governor Rick Scott, calling it" unimaginable destruction. "
Now cities are assessing the damage and starting to clean the debris. Here's what we know on Friday:
Where the storm is now
Michael left the east coast early Friday morning to travel to the Atlantic Ocean as a post-tropical storm.
Power outages
Nearly 1.1 million customers in five states were without electricity at 17:30. EDT Friday, according to PowerOutage.US.
Pity
In Panama, most of the houses were still standing, but no property was left untouched. Falling power lines and twisted traffic signs lay all around. The aluminum cladding was shredded and the houses were separated by fallen trees. Hundreds of cars had broken windows. The hurricane damaged 4 hospitals and 11 retirement homes in Florida, and officials worked to evacuate hundreds of patients. All hospitals and nursing homes remained open in Georgia.
An insurance company that produces disaster models estimates that Michael caused about $ 8 billion worth of damage. Boston-based Karen Clark & Company released the estimate on Thursday, which includes wind and storm surge damage on residential, commercial and industrial properties and vehicles. It does not include losses covered by the National Flood Insurance Program.
Officials warned Friday that it was not yet safe to return home for residents of Bay County, Florida, and Mexico Beach, Florida.
"All those who evacuated Mexico Beach and who are in a shelter will have to wait a long time before they can return to these places because they have been heavily damaged," FEMA Director Brock Long told reporters on Friday.
Tyndall Air Force Base sustained significant damage and Colonel Brian Laidlaw ordered the 3,600 men and women stationed at the base not to return.
More: Stunning photos and videos of Michael's destruction path
More: & # 39; C & # 39; was our heart. It's gone ": Michael's record climbs
Number of deaths
Fourteen people were reported killed in a storm in five states.
Steve Sweet, 44, was killed in Gadsden County, Florida, near the border with Georgia, when a tree fell on his home. The authorities on Thursday announced four deaths in Gadsden County.
Sarah Radney, 11, who was visiting her grandparents in Seminole County, Georgia, was killed when a portable carport went through the house and struck her at home. the head. The Georgian authorities have confirmed the existence of another death in that state.
The Hanover County Fire Department said that fire lieutenant Brad Clark had died following a crash north of Richmond, Virginia, while Michael was attacking the state. In Virginia, four more victims died by drowning, according to the Emergency Management Department.
A driver from Iredell County, North Carolina, was killed on Thursday when a tree fell on his car. A man and a woman also died in McDowell County, North Carolina, when their car crashed against a fallen tree.
Not all victims were named.
Rescue and recovery
The US Coast Guard had rescued about 129 people and one animal at 14 hours. Friday and assisted 232 others, including 142 patients in retirement homes, according to a statement. Intervention teams also attempted to remove debris from the road to clear emergency service roads. The Red Cross sent 1,000 skilled disaster responders to help the victims of the storm, with 48 mobile food units each providing 1,500 meals a day.
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 hurricane that made the story
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). It will have its name "withdrawn" by the World Meteorological Organization next year.
More: I lived (and covered) many hurricanes in Florida. Hurricane Michael was different.
Contribute: The Associated Press
Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/12/hurricane-michael-where-storm-now-what-we-know-damage/1611783002/
Source link
