Hurricane Michael makes landfall in Florida Panhandle with 250-km/h winds.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the eye of Hurricane Michael – a category 4 storm – touched land near Mexico Beach, on the Florida Panhandle, on Wednesday afternoon.
Hundreds of thousands were told to evacuate but many have not fled. Florida Governor Rick Scott warned of “unimaginable devastation”, saying it would be the worst storm in 100 years.
A category 4 storm has never made landfall in the panhandle before, and Michael’s vast size means the effects will be felt along the coast from New Orleans to Tampa Bay, and inland as far as the Carolinas.
Michael is expected to move quickly up the US East Coast, dumping rains on regions that are already saturated from Hurricane Florence last month.
In their latest advisory, the National Hurricane Center warned coastal residents “not to venture out into the relative calm of the eye, as hazardous winds will increase very quickly as the eye passes”.
Authorities warned that anybody who chose not to evacuate would be on their own, with conditions already too hazardous for emergency workers to operate.
“Nobody’s coming out to save your life today,” Florida governor Rick Scott said on CNN.
“We’ve done everything we can to tell people to evacuate and some people have unfortunately chosen not to. I’m scared to death if there’s any kids who didn’t make that choice on their own.”
The Guardian has reported that there is severe damage in Mexico Beach, near where the hurricane made landfall. Homes are fully submerged. It said some regions of Florida may experience storm surges of up to 4m, and “life-threatening” flash floods may occur as a result of up to 30cm of rain.
According to Climate Central, a scientific research organisation, the coming decades are expected to bring hurricanes that intensify more rapidly, should there be no change in the rate of greenhouse gas emissions.
