Hurricane Michael: Trump announces Florida and Georgia visit as states reel from devastating storm damage

The storm has left a death toll of at least 16, with the count expected to rise

Hurricane Michael: Storm surge captured in ruined back garden in CCTV video

At least 16 people have died in the wake of Hurricane Michael, one of the most intense storms ever to hit the United States mainland. The storm, as it moved offshore, left behind scenes of mass devastation.

The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days, or even weeks, in the large swath of the American southeast where Michael’s winds and rains pushed storm surges up to 14 ft and tore homes and businesses to shreds. The deaths include at least five in Virginia and seven in Florida.

Michael may have left American shores, but Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Brock Long says that he expects more bodies to be discovered as search and rescue efforts continue across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Officials are also working to restore power and services to more than 1.4 million customers who have been left in the dark by the hurricane.

“We’re still in life-safety mode,” Mr Long told CBS News on Friday. “We’re not even close to having discussions on rebuilding yet."

President Donald Trump said he would be visiting both Florida and Georgia next week.

Hurricane Michael made landfall on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of up to 155 mph – just shy of the threshold to be considered a Category 5, the most intense designation.

In Mexico Beach and Panama Beach, Florida – communities felt the worst of the storm – entire neighbourhoods were levelled after the storm smashed through the area, leaving behind rubble and the occasional home or business that had somehow, improbably remained intact. But far inland from there, too, the storm topped walls and tore off roofs.

Search teams continue to pick their way through the ruins of Mexico Beach, a city of about 1,000 people. State officials said that by one count, 285 people in the area defied mandatory evacuation orders and stayed behind. Whether any of them got out at some point was unclear. 

State emergency officials said they have received thousands of calls asking about missing people, but confirmation of those missing has been hampered by a lack of mobile phone service.

Governor Rick Scott said state officials still “do not know enough” about the fate of those who stayed behind in the region. 

“We are not completely done. We are still getting down there,” the governor added. 

If you want to see how the day unfolded, see our live blog below.

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[12 October 2018 19:19 · Chris Stevenson]

CNN has collated a breakdown of the power outages still affecting the region - here it is:

At least 1,372,656 customers are without power across seven states.

• Florida: 343,684 customers
• North Carolina: 403,960 customers
• Georgia: 72,853 customers
• Alabama: 13,000 customers
• South Carolina: 92,000 customers
• Virginia: 432,000 customers
• Maryland: 15,159 customers

[12 October 2018 19:32 · Chris Stevenson]

The number of dead is expected to rise, but authorities have scrapped plans for setting up a temporary morgue, indicating they had yet to see signs of mass casualties.

[12 October 2018 19:44 · Chris Stevenson]

Virginia is now dealing with “flooding, downed trees, closed roads, and a lot of debris,” Governor Ralph Northam has said.

“A wide swath of Virginia, from southwest to Hampton Roads, suffered flooding, high winds, and tornado damage from the storm,” Northam said, adding that crews are still assessing damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.

[12 October 2018 19:56 · Chris Stevenson]

Five tornados have been reported in counties across Virginia: Amelia, James City, New Kent, Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Gloucester.

[12 October 2018 23:12 · Chris Stevenson]

Here is our latest report on the hurricane. We are now ending our coverage, thanks for reading.