THE most powerful storm to hit the continental US in 50 years has been blamed for at least eleven deaths.
More than 900,000 homes and businesses in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas are without power in the wake of Hurricane Michael.
After striking Florida, Michael has continued up the south-east of the US. There have been high winds, downed trees, and streets inundated by rising waters in Virginia and neighbouring North Carolina.
Meanwhile, thousands of National Guard troops, law enforcement officers and rescue teams still had much to do in the hardest hit area: Florida’s Panhandle.
A man outside Tallahassee, Florida, was killed by a falling tree and was the first of “four storm-related fatalities” announced by the Gadsden County Sheriff’s office.
An 11-year-old girl in Georgia died when Michael’s winds dropped debris through the roof of her grandparents’ home.
A driver in North Carolina was killed when a tree fell on his car.
Then, as Michael blew through Virginia as a tropical storm, authorities said five people there were killed, including four who drowned and a firefighter whose truck was struck by a tractor-trailer as he responded to an accident in heavy storm conditions.
Some fear that the toll can only rise as rescue teams clear storm debris blocking roads and reach isolated areas.
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