Search teams comb debris for victims of Hurricane Michael as death toll expected to rise
About 1.5 million homes and businesses were without power from Florida to Virginia early on Friday, following the arrival of the hurricane, which continued inland as a dangerous storm
Rescuers are using heavy equipment to clear debris in the Florida Panhandle towns hit hardest by Hurricane Michael, searching for survivors amid expectations that the death toll of 14 from the powerful storm likely will climb.
So far, no counties along the devastated northwest Florida coast have reported deaths related to the storm. That could change, as efforts to assess damage and look for casualties in the worst-hit communities have been hampered by downed utility lines and roads blocked by debris and fallen trees.
“I think you’re going to see it climb,” Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long said of the death count at a news conference. “We still haven’t gotten into some of the hardest-hit areas.”
Teams from FEMA used dogs, drones and global positioning satellites in the search.
Many of the houses in Mexico Beach were reduced to naked concrete foundations or piles of debris.