Hurricane Michael, categorized as a category 4 storm, has finally made its dreaded landfall along the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday afternoon, further pushing inland up across the southeastern part of the US, with the state of Georgia lying directly across its path.
Carrying wind gusts of over 100 miles per hour, Mexico Beach, Florida incurred severe structural damages - the first time for the coastline to experience such catastrophe.
According to AccuWeather Vice President of Forecasting and Graphics Operations Marshall Moss, a hurricane as strong as Michael has never struck this part of the state until now. The storm's passing will certainly change the landscape of the area.
Power Outages
Upon its landfall in the region on Wednesday evening, more than 500,000 were reported to have lost power and as stated by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the outlying parts of the area could further be without electricity in the days to come.
Officials said that Florida has never experienced this kind of destructive storm that is Hurricane Michael.
A huge number of families in the region was forced to evacuate their homes to seek shelter in designated centers.
Damages and Reported Deaths
According to CBS News, Hurricane Michael has already claimed at least one life as it continues to make its way to the inland over the Southeast.
Citing the police report from Gadsden County Sheriff's Office in Florida, the office said that one person was killed on Wednesday evening by a falling tree during the storm.
The NHC warned about Hurricane Michael as something that could bring catastrophe in epic proportion. In Florida alone, debris was scattered along its coastlines; roofs peeled back from homes and buildings; uprooted trees and downed power lines can be seen everywhere.
On the other hand, officials in Georgia feared for what Hurricane Michael could do in their place which has nearly 30 million. Strong gusts of winds and heavy rainfall have already been thrashing the state and its neighboring area, North and South Carolina. The two latter states have been barely recovering from the onslaught brought by last month's Hurricane Florence which has caused an estimated USD$20 billion worth of damages.
Like in Florida, Hurricane Michael would be the first of its kind to hit Georgia since the Georgia Hurricane of 1898, Dr. Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University told The Weather Channel.
The forecast from the weather news agency indicated that dangerous situations will continue to take place across the southern half of Georgia as Hurricane Michael accelerates towards the inland parts of the region Thursday night. Enhanced rainfall is to be expected in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England by Friday and onwards.
