Hurricane Michael: Florida moves into rescue and recovery

Oct. 11--TALLAHASSEE -- As Hurricane Michael moved out of the Florida Panhandle, Gov. Rick Scott said he was pivoting his focus "100 percent" on rescue and recovery efforts, which began around 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Residents who didn't obey evacuation orders, and rode out the storm, which packed 155 mph winds and storm surges of up to 13 feet in some areas, worried emergency officials the most.

"Following the storm we must all come together and work together," Scott told reporters at the Emergency Operations Center. "During disasters Floridians take care of each other. Floridians are strong, Floridians are resilient. We will recover, and we will do it together."

At the same time, Scott warned of lingering dangers of Michael, the strongest storm ever to hit the Panhandle region, including tornadoes and flash floods. Two tornadoes touched down in Gadsden County, just west of Tallahassee.

As of Wednesday evening, there were more than 388,000 homes and businesses without power, including nearly 100,000 in Bay County -- about 92 percent of all customers there -- where Michael made landfall.

Scott also requested a major disaster declaration for 14 counties affected by Hurricane Michael.

If approved by President Trump's administration, it would free up federal funds to reimburse the state and local governments for debris removal and other costs related to recovery from the storm.

"For this disaster, there is no need for damage assessments," Scott said in a letter making the request to Trump. "The destruction from a major hurricane with 155 mph sustained winds and up to 13 feet of storm surge should be more than sufficient to satisfy any arbitrary per capita threshold for state or county damages."

Video on social media showed buildings in Panama City Beach and Mexico Beach -- where the storm made landfall Wednesday afternoon -- inundated with rising storm surge and winds tearing apart roofs.

In Tallahassee, about 100 miles east of Panama City, wind gusts of up to 65 mph felled trees and knocked out power to more than 40,000 residents as of 3 p.m., the city-owned utility estimated.

Other large utilities serving areas affected by Michael also reported widespread outages. Gulf Power reported 116,000 customers without power, and Duke Energy showed 26,000 customers in the dark as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Hurricane Michael slammed into Mexico Beach between Panama City Beach and Apalachicola as a deadly, 155-mph Category 4, bringing a massive storm surge that swamped to the tops of buildings.

Even before it hit, Scott and state emergency officials were already gearing up for a lengthy recovery process, anticipating days of power outages and promising extensive efforts to rescue those who didn't evacuate and get food and water to those in need.

"As soon as Michael passes we will have a massive wave of response and support coming down around the Panhandle," Scott said during a morning briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.

Earlier, Scott warned residents who hadn't fled to stay in place. "It's too late to get out," he said.

A top concern has been the few people who have heeded evacuation orders. Officials estimate about 375,000 Floridians were under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders, but about only about 3,400 residents had flocked to shelters by Wednesday morning.

Scott said 1,000 search and rescue personnel would be deployed after Michael sweeps through, adding that 3,500 National Guard members had been activated, with state troopers and transportation crews ready to clear roadways to allow trucks with food, water and medicine to reach affected areas.

The communities along the Panhandle coast can be hard to reach, with two-lane roads connecting several towns, and bridges that have never experienced the powerful winds Michael promises to pack.

Scott said officials in Franklin County, a coastal county west of Tallahassee, told him there were still 50 people on St. George Island, a barrier island, who were refusing to evacuate.

"I'm scared to death for them," he said.

According to Weather Underground, Michael is the strongest hurricane ever in the Florida Panhandle in records going back to 1851.

Scott had additional warnings for residents after the storm passes through -- beware of downed power lines and standing water because the danger hasn't ended.

"You do not want to be the person who survives the storm just to put your life or your family's life at risk because you didn't listen to local officials," he said.

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