Hurricane Michael left a wake of destruction along the Florida coast and then continued its devastation well inland, bringing down trees, knocking out power, creating flooding and causing structural damage in Alabama and Georgia.

Alabama Power reported thousands of outages in southeast Alabama at 10 p.m. Houston County had the largest number of outages of 42,000, followed by Henry with 7,400, Dale with 5,800, Geneva with 5,800, Barbour with 5,400 and Lee with 3,200.

More outages are possible overnight and assessment and restoration efforts are unlikely on a large scale until the weather improves and visibility returns Thursday morning to make work safe for crews.

Alabama has mobilized more than 1,000 company and contractor resources to address outages and effects from Hurricane Michael.

Media outlets are reporting more than 330,000 power outages in Florida and more than 170,000 in Georgia. </s> Hurricane Michael knocked out power to more than 83,000 Alabama customers as it lashed through the southeastern portion of the state Wednesday.

As of 11 a.m. Thursday, Alabama Power had restored power to all but 36,000 customers.

Nearly 1,250 company and contracted employees have moved or are moving into the hardest hit areas in southeast and east Alabama to help the 245 local employees with restoration efforts.

As of 11 a.m., outages included 10,000 in Houston County, 7,100 in Henry County, 5,800 in Dale County, 5,200 in Geneva County, 4,500 in Lee County and 4,200 in Barbour County.

Alabama Power said crews will continue to work as quickly and safely as possible to restore service to all customers affected by the hurricane.

The public is urged to stay away from downed lines and other hazards and to report hazardous conditions to Alabama Power or local authorities.

Alabama Power’s Customer Service Center (CSC) storm team was activated Oct. 9 to help restoration efforts. In addition, the CSC has mobilized to support Gulf Power, which sustained dramatic damage in the Florida Panhandle. More than 25 agents are assisting Gulf Power today by taking customer calls, with an additional 38 agents scheduled the rest of the week and into the weekend.

The CSC has handled nearly 550 calls since Wednesday when Hurricane Michael made landfall near Panama City, Florida. .

Southern Company subsidiary Southern Nuclear reduced power for units 1 and 2 at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan as a precautionary safety measure in advance of Hurricane Michael. Both units continue to operate.

Southern Nuclear operates the facility on behalf of owner Alabama Power.

Tropical Storm Michael was over North Carolina at 10 a.m. Thursday. </s> CHARLESTON, S.C./SAVANNAH, Ga.—Hurricane Matthew slammed into South Carolina on Saturday, packing a diminished yet still powerful punch after killing almost 900 people in Haiti and causing major flooding and widespread power outages as it skirted Florida and Georgia.

Now weakened, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 left flooding and wind damage in Florida before moving slowly north to soak coastal Georgia and the Carolinas. Wind speeds had dropped by nearly half from their peak about a week ago to 75 miles per hour, reducing it to a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1 to 5.

Matthew, which topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm more than a week ago, made landfall near McClellanville, a village 30 miles north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989.

The National Hurricane Service said Matthew was over Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday afternoon, and warned of potentially life-threatening flooding in Georgia and North Carolina even as the storm slowed as it plowed inland.

At least five deaths in Florida and three deaths in North Carolina were attributed to the storm. Two people were killed by falling trees in Georgia's Bulloch County, the county coroner said. The storm knocked out power to almost 1.6 million households and businesses in the U.S. Southeast.

The stretch of the Atlantic coast from Miami to Charleston, a nearly 600-mile drive, encompasses some of the most well-known beaches, resorts and historical towns in the southeastern United States. Parts of Interstate 95, the main north-south thoroughfare on the East Coast, were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, state officials said.

In Florida, 775,000 were without power, according to state utilities, while in South Carolina 433,000 had no electricity, Governor Nikki Haley said. Georgia Power said at least 275,000 were without power in the state.

Roads in Jackson Beach, Florida, were littered with wood, including sections of a historic pier, and foot-deep, water-clogged intersections. Beachfront businesses suffered moderate damage.

"We rode out the storm. It wasn't this bad at our house, but here there's a lot of damage," said Zowi Cuartas, 18, as he watched people pick up shattered signs near the beach. "We were prepared to lose our house."

Governor Rick Scott of Florida said more than 6,000 people stayed in shelters overnight, but he appeared relieved at a news conference on Saturday the storm had not done more harm.

"We're all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast," he said. He predicted most people would have power back by Sunday evening. He did not comment on the death reports, which were confirmed by local officials.

Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic architecture, were flooding up to the tops of tires on some cars and a few residents waded near the city's sea wall as high tide approached.

Tony Williams, 54, who said he is homeless, rode his bicycle against huge wind gusts after spending the night in the garage of a bank. "I just got tired of laying where I was laying," he said.

On Daufuskie Island near the Georgia border, writer Roger Pinckney, 70, said he was fine on Saturday morning after refusing pleas from officials for residents of low-lying barrier islands to evacuate. "It blew like hell," he said.

Charleston officials said they were not aware of any deaths, injuries or significant structural damage. Winds and the threat of surges were expected to diminish through the day.

The toll in the United States was far less devastating than in Haiti, where at least 877 people died earlier, a death tally that ticked up as information trickled in from remote areas.

Matthew howled through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mph (233 kph) winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm hurled the sea onto coastal villages.

The U.S. military was deploying aid to Haiti by air and sea. Mesa Verde, a U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was due to arrive on Sunday with heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh-water delivery vehicles and two operating rooms. Iwo Jima, a second Navy ship, was due to arrive on Oct. 13. The U.S. government was also airlifting emergency supplies, according to the United States Agency for International Development.

Aid group Doctors Without Borders was flying personnel to Haiti by helicopter. The Haitian government warned a deadly outbreak of cholera could worsen, confirming dozens of new cases of the water-borne disease since the storm, 13 of them fatal.

Officials in Florida, which has been grappling with an outbreak of Zika, said they hoped the flooding would not worsen the spread of the mosquito-borne virus, which causes fever and birth deformities.

"We have got to get rid of standing water as quickly as we can," Governor Scott told reporters.

In North Carolina, where the hurricane was due to arrive on Saturday evening, Governor Pat McCrory warned storm surges and high winds could cause serious problems. He said he was "extremely concerned" the downgrade to a Category 1 would cause people not to take warnings seriously.

Forecasters warned of flooding as 15 inches (40 cm) of rain were expected to fall in some areas along with massive storm surges and high tides.

Further south, some 8 inches (20 cm) of rain fell in the Savannah, Georgia, area, downing trees and causing flooding.

The National Weather Service said record-high tides were recorded at the Savannah River at the South Carolina-Georgia border, peaking at 12.6 feet, surpassing those caused by Hurricane David in 1979.

Though gradually weakening, Matthew was forecast to remain a hurricane until it begins moving away on Sunday, the NHC said. </s> Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, at about 1 p.m. as a Category 4 hurricane with initial measurements making it the strongest to hit the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Camille in 1969.

Officials are calling Michael one of the strongest hurricanes on record and the strongest to make landfall in October in the U.S. It is also believed to be the strongest hurricane to strike the Florida Panhandle.

Structural damage, power outages and storm surge have already been reported along the Florida coast and into the panhandle. Extreme winds, rain and tornado warnings remain a threat inland in southeast Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and northeast Florida and southwest Georgia.

In Alabama, a number of cities and counties in the southeastern part of the state have issued curfews.

Between 600 and 700 Alabama Power and contract crews are being deployed to the southeast area of the state to support Alabama Power teams already on the ground. The crews will be staged closer to where the storm is expected to cause damage.

Because of the magnitude of the storm, damage is likely to substations, transmission lines and distribution lines. Alabama Power will work safely and as efficiently as possible to restore power. Safety will be of utmost importance for Alabama Power crews and customers.

Alabama Power is communicating with its sister companies and other investor-owned utilities through its mutual-assistance agreements. The agreements provide for utilities to move quickly to help each other, if needed, following a natural disaster or other significant disruption.

Alabama Power’s Customer Service Center (CSC) storm team was activated Oct. 9 to help restoration efforts should customers be affected. In addition, the CSC has mobilized to support Gulf Power. More than 25 agents are scheduled to assist Gulf Power today by taking customer calls, with an additional 38 agents scheduled the rest of the week and into the weekend.

Southern Company subsidiary Southern Nuclear is reducing power for units 1 and 2 at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant as a precautionary safety measure to prepare for potential weather-related conditions caused by Hurricane Michael. These proactive steps will allow station personnel to continue monitoring the storm’s progress and take any necessary actions.

Southern Nuclear operates the facility on behalf of owner Alabama Power.

“Safety systems at nuclear power plants are designed to withstand significant hazard events, and we take pride in our ability to safely and reliably operate our facility,” said Farley Site Vice President Dennis Madison. “The decision to reduce power in preparation for the storm is a conservative measure, as the safety of our plant, employees and neighbors remains the top priority in everything we do.”

As of 3 p.m., Geneva, Houston, Henry and Dale counties remained under a hurricane warning while Conecuh, Escambia, Covington, Butler, Crenshaw, Pike, Coffee, Bullock and Barbour counties were under a tropical storm warning. Parts of Barbour, Bullock and Pike counties are also under an area flood advisory.

The governor’s office has provided a list of shelters available in the state for those looking to get out of the path of the hurricane.

the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) said it has multiple crews on standby ready address problems when the storm clears.

ALDOT said it is closely monitoring the historic storm with crews at its area and district offices in Troy, Dothan, Ozark, Enterprise Andalusia, and Eufaula prepared to respond as soon as it is safe to do so. Once conditions allow, ALDOT crews will be out to assess damage and crews with chainsaws will help clear roadways of debris in an effort to aid the efforts of first responders. Also, multiple signal techs and sign trucks are on standby and ready to repair any damaged signals or signs as quickly as possible.

Any drivers in affected areas who do have to be on the road are asked to be mindful of first responders as well as state and local transportation and power crews. Also, officials urge people to “turn around, don’t drown” when motorists observe roadways covered in water.
• Know your community hurricane evacuation routes, in case an evacuation is necessary.
• Determine where your family will meet.
• Make sure you have a way to contact your family.
• Stock an emergency kit with flashlights, batteries, first-aid supplies, cash and copies of your critical information.
• Keep a three-day supply of water – a gallon per person per day – and three days’ supply of nonperishable food on hand.
• Trim shrubs and trees close to your home to minimize damage to your property.
• Turn down the thermostat in your home. It can help keep your home cool for up to 48 hours after a power disruption.
• Bring in outdoor items, such as furniture, decorations, garbage cans, etc.
• Seek shelter in a sturdy building, away from windows and doors.
• If there is a power outage or a downed line, report it at www.alabamapower.com or call Alabama Power’s automated reporting system at 1-800-888-APCO (2726). Turn off appliances to avoid any potential safety hazards when power is restored.
• Stay away from downed lines and keep pets away.
• Stay clear of damaged and fallen trees where a downed line may be hidden. Stay away from areas where repair crews are working.

More people are purchasing portable generators to keep appliances running during outages. While generators can be a convenience, they can also be deadly when used improperly.

Read and follow carefully the manufacturer’s instructions before using a generator.

Do not plug in portable generators to your household wiring. This can cause serious injury to you and to Alabama Power employees working on the lines in your neighborhood. Connect only essential appliances – such as freezers and refrigerators – directly to the generator.

To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, operate generators outdoors in a well-ventilated, dry area that is away from air intakes to the home, including window air conditioners. A good location is an open shed. Never use a portable generator indoors or in attached garages. </s> Nearly 137,000 Florida customers remain without power from the Gulf of Mexico to the Georgia border

Gaige Williams, 2, cools off in a storage container outside the damaged motel where he lives with his family in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. Many residents rode out the storm and have no place to go even though many of the rooms are uninhabitable. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Hurricane Michael killed at least 16 people in Florida, most of them in the coastal county that took a direct hit from the storm, state emergency authorities said Tuesday. That’s in addition to at least 10 deaths elsewhere across the South.

The scope of the storm’s fury became clearer after nearly a week of missing-persons reports and desperate searches of the Florida Panhandle neighbourhoods devastated by the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in nearly 50 years.

The count of 16 dead was twice the number previously tallied by The Associated Press.

Emergency authorities said 12 of the deaths were in Bay County, where the storm slammed ashore with 155 mph (250 kph) winds and towering storm surge last Wednesday.

Bay County includes Mexico Beach, the ground-zero town of 1,000 people that was nearly obliterated, as well as Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City and Lynn Haven, all of which were heavily damaged.

Florida emergency authorities gave no details on how the victims died.

The AP’s tally also includes 10 deaths in Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina.

Mexico Beach Mayor Al Cathey said two deaths were confirmed in his town, a man and a woman who did not evacuate and whose homes were destroyed.

Only one person remained missing in Mexico Beach, Cathey said, adding that authorities were almost certain that that person evacuated before Michael and simply hasn’t been contacted.

“We’re holding steady at two and don’t expect that number to rise,” the mayor said.

Nearly 137,000 Florida customers remain without power in an 11-county region that stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Georgia border, according to information compiled by state emergency management officials.

Meanwhile, a glimmer of hope emerged when cellphone service began to return to the stricken zone.

Cathey had a one-word exclamation when his Verizon phone started working for the first time in nearly a week: “Hallelujah!”

Verizon service also resumed in Panama City, where residents haven’t been able to contact loved ones or call for help. The telecommunications giant later announced it would give a three-month credit to every Verizon customer in Bay and Gulf counties.

Gov. Rick Scott had been criticizing phone companies over what he called a slow restoration of service.

Sitting outside in the sweltering heat in the Panama City area as she fanned herself with a flyswatter, Christy Tanksley said the sudden improvement in cell service was a huge relief.

“A lot of people didn’t even know we had evacuated and come back,” said Tanksley, whose phone runs off the Verizon network.

“I turned my phone on this morning and it started going crazy,” she said. “There were all kinds of messages, Facebook notifications, emails and emergency alerts.”

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> Rescue organizations are still searching for more than 1,000 people who are missing in Florida.

There are at least 1,000 people in Florida who are still missing one week after Hurricane Michael. Most of those still unaccounted for are elderly, disabled, or people who live alone, according to CNBC.

Florida officials have not given a hard number for how many missing persons they are still seeking, but the number is over 1,000. The missing people are not assumed dead. Communication is still difficult in the state due to extensive storm damage, and officials say that the missing people may be with friends or relatives.

There are still phone and power outages in many areas of the state, and debris and downed trees are making it difficult for rescuers to get into some neighborhoods. At this time, volunteer rescue groups are not being allowed in areas hit hardest by the storm for their own safety. One volunteer rescue group is still searching for more than 400 people who have been reported missing.

Michael made landfall in the Florida panhandle one week ago today, slamming into Mexico Beach first. This part of the panhandle was hit the hardest by the storm, taking the brunt of 155 mph winds from the Category 4 hurricane.

Michael was the third-worst storm to ever make landfall in the U.S., according to historic weather records. It was the worst hurricane to ever hit this part of Florida in recorded weather history.

Slowly, officials are clearing away debris and contacting Florida residents to determine their status.

There are only three people still missing in Mexico Beach as of Tuesday, down from more than 30 on Monday, as reported by the Inquisitr.

A majority of residents in rural areas of the panhandle are still without power. Some people will wait for weeks before power is restored. There are 150,000 homes and businesses in Florida without power as of Wednesday, according to the BBC. Some residents are camping out in tents and sleeping bags near their destroyed homes.

Power outages and phone service outages have made it difficult for FEMA to distribute food and water and for officials to contact missing people, reports Reuters.

So far, 17 people in Florida are dead as a direct result of Hurricane Michael. The number could go higher as more debris is cleared away and bodies are found.

Workers are attempting to restore power and phone services to all hurricane-ravaged areas, though this process will ultimately take weeks.

The Florida Department of Health has created an online form for those who want to report missing friends and loved ones. </s> 02:23 Hurricane Michael Devastated Bee Population in Florida Up to 50,000 bee colonies were destroyed by Hurricane Michael in Northern Florida.

At a Glance Hurricane Michael carved swaths of devastation as it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle.

One death has been reported in Gadsden County.

More than 331,000 homes and businesses lost power in Florida.

More than 375,000 people along the Gulf Coast in 22 counties were ordered or urged to evacuate.

More than 50 miles inland, the hurricane continued to cause major damage.

When Hurricane Michael made landfall as a high-end Category 4 storm on the Florida Panhandle Wednesday, buildings along the coast were smashed to pieces, storm-surge flooding lapped at the eaves of beach houses, and an Air Force base sustained extensive damage.

One death has been reported in the Panhandle. A Greensboro man was killed when a tree crashed on his home, Gadsden County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Anglie Hightower told the Associated Press.

From Panama City, through Mexico Beach — where the storm made landfall — and into Apalachicola, houses were swamped or blown apart, roofs were ripped off, boats sank, and trees toppled in the high winds.

Tyndall Air Force Base, which sits across the bay from Panama City, posted on its Facebook page that the base sustained extensive damage . A wind gust of 129 mph was measured at the base. No injuries were reported. Base personnel had been ordered to evacuate on Monday. The Facebook post said evacuees should plan on being away for an extended time.

The damage extended far inland as well. In Marianna, about 55 miles from Panama City, social media posts showed buildings with collapsed walls and torn off roofs. The police department lost its roof, too. Michael arrived in the city with gusts up to 102 mph.

Officials in Tallahassee, the state capital, tweeted that initial assessments of storm damage were showing lots of downed power lines, power poles, and trees.

As of 10:30 p.m. EDT, more than 331,000 homes and businesses were without power statewide, most of which were in the areas impacted by the storm , according to PowerOutage.us. The total number of customers without power in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia topped 550,000.

(MORE: Track Hurricane Michael )

More From the Coast

Images from Mexico Beach showed widespread devastation with homes reduced to kindling and roofs lying in the middle of U.S. 98 . Storm surge lapped at roof eaves.

Patricia Mulligan was in a condo on Mexico Beach when Michael slammed into the town. “You can’t drive a car anywhere, you can’t do anything because it’s littered with houses, pieces of houses ,” Mulligan told the New York Times. She said her brother's condo was destroyed as were other units nearby. “They’re not there. It’s gone,” she said.

Several storm trackers tweeted that they were shocked by the devastation.

Mark Suddath wrote, "Walking thru Mexico Beach to receive my GoPro cam and I’m telling you, it’s DEVASTATED. Truly devastated. Some buildings completely swept clean - only slabs."

Earlier he had written, "Drove from Panama City almost to Mexico Beach and I can tell you this is the worst damage from wind that I have ever seen! Absolutely catastrophic!"

Josh Morgerman wrote, "It's hard to convey in words the scale of the catastrophe in Panama City. The whole city looks like a nuke was dropped on it. I'm literally shocked at the scale of the destruction."

Tweets from a resident of Panama City showed a bank where the windows were blown out and two middle schools had major roof damage. Drone video showed the roof peeled back from the gymnasium at Jinks Middle School.

Vance Beu, 29, was staying with his mother at her Panama City apartment when a pine tree stabbed through the roof. Beu told AP the roar of the storm sounded like a jet engine as the winds accelerated.

"It was terrifying, honestly. There was a lot of noise. We thought the windows were going to break at any time. We had the inside windows kind of barricaded in with mattresses," Beu said.

Kaylee O'Brien was crying as she sorted through the remains of the apartment she shared with three roommates. Four pine trees had crashed through the roof of her apartment, nearly hitting two people.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/43567164_2043348495687516_697930394598637568_n.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/43567164_2043348495687516_697930394598637568_n.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/43567164_2043348495687516_697930394598637568_n.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Chunks of U.S. 98 in Panama City Beach, Florida, were washed away by the storm surge from Hurricane Michael on Wednesday, October 10, 2018. (Photo by Charles Ferrell) (Photo by Charles Ferrell)

Facebook photos showed chunks of U.S. 98 that were washed away by the storm surge.

The walls collapsed at the Pawaday Inn, a pet grooming and boarding business in Panama City. A Miami Herald reporter tweeted that the dogs survived, but a cat drowned after being trapped.

In Panama City Beach, WJHG-TV employees were told they could evacuate the station if they felt unsafe, but a few remained inside the building , according to reporter Danielle Ellis. The station lost power a few hours later.

The Panama City News Herald lost power and stayed in operation using a backup generator, but did not have internet access at the office, the Associated Press reported.

Bay Medical Sacred Heart in Panama City tweeted that hospital "sustained damage including windows blown out, cracking of an exterior wall, and roof damage." The tweet said emergency generators were working, and patients had been moved to safer areas.

In Port St. Joe, about 12 miles southeast of Mexico Beach, a church lost its steeple and much of its roof, parts of buildings were torn away , and pine trees snapped like matchsticks .

Port St. Joe's Mayor Bo Patterson remained in his home seven blocks from the beach during the storm. "It feels like you don't know when the next tree is going to fall on top of you because it's blowing so ferociously, " he told Reuters by telephone. "It's very, very scary. We have trees being uprooted, heavy, heavy rain."

Further east, Apalachicola saw a lot of damage too. Sally Crown, who rode out the storm in her house, ventured out after the storm had passed.

"It's absolutely horrendous. Catastrophic," Crown told AP. "There's flooding. Boats on the highway. A house on the highway. Houses that have been there forever are just shattered."

"There are so many downed power lines and trees that it's almost impossible to get through the city," Apalachicola Mayor Van Johnson said.

The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office said parts of the county, which sits on the coast south of Tallahassee, had seen storm surge of 9 feet . The winds were dying down and crews were beginning to access the damage.

Before Michael Made Landfall

Hours before landfall, reports of damage and flooding were relayed from the coast. Residents who refused to evacuate were cut off when bridges were closed, including along St. George Island, where some called for help Wednesday morning but were told crews would not be able to reach them, a National Weather Service storm report said.

Wednesday morning, Florida Gov. Rick Scott shared dire advice : "The time to evacuate has come and gone ... SEEK REFUGE IMMEDIATELY."

"Unfortunately, Hurricane Michael has become a hurricane of the worst kind," FEMA Administrator Brock Long told reporters.

The Florida Highway Patrol said it pulled its troopers away from coastal areas because it was too dangerous to keep them in those areas.

"We have done everything we can as far as getting the word out," said Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith told the AP. "Hopefully more people will leave."

More than 375,000 people along the Gulf Coast in 22 counties were ordered or urged to evacuate, officials said.

All airports along the Florida Panhandle closed throughout the storm, and flights were canceled. Tallahassee International Airport tweeted late Wednesday that the airfield had reopened but priority was being given to relief flights. Commercial flights were set to resume midday Thursday, the airport said.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/ap_18283510241974.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/ap_18283510241974.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/ap_18283510241974.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Waves from the Choctawhatchee Bay pound the seawall on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, as Hurricane Michael closes in on land. (Nick Tomecek/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP) (Nick Tomecek/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

In Bay County, first responders were no longer able to respond to emergencies as of Wednesday morning, but the Panama City Fire Department would continue responding to life-threatening emergency calls that came from within the city limits, the county said in a tweet.

"There’s no way to put a silver lining on this," said Jim Cantore, storm tracker for The Weather Channel, Wednesday morning while reporting live on Panama City Beach.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in Florida to free up as many resources as possible for storm and emergency response.

Rescue teams and utility trucks descended on the region by the hundreds from all over the country as they prepared to help with the aftermath.

"We have a pit in our stomachs, too," National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said during a Wednesday morning interview on The Weather Channel.

(MORE: The Latest from the Carolinas )

Evacuation orders were expanded for additional areas in the path of the storm on Tuesday. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for Okaloosa Island and Holiday Isle Tuesday afternoon, and voluntary evacuations were in place for residents in flood-prone areas of Pasco County.

FloridaDisaster.org has a complete list of areas under mandatory and voluntary evacuations.

"If you decide to stay in your home and a tree falls on your house or the storm surge catches you and you’re now calling for help, there’s no one that can respond to help you," warned Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan during a news conference Monday. "That’s the criticality of following directions."

Scott said more than 3,500 Florida National Guard members were activated for storm response. He added that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was ready to deploy and the Department of Transportation was monitoring the situation.

All bridges leading to and from coastal islands were closed Wednesday morning. With road closures expected to be a fluid situation, officials urged residents to follow updates on the Department of Transportation's Twitter page .

(MORE: Shelters Open as Michael Nears Gulf Coast )

"This is the worst storm that the Florida Panhandle has seen in more than 100 years," said Scott.

Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College all announced that campuses would be closed Tuesday through Friday. FSU opened the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center as a shelter for students and faculty.

Leon County Schools posted a tweet Monday saying all schools would be closed through the rest of the week. Bay District Schools will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday , the Panama City News Herald reported.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this report. </s> ATLANTA, Oct. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As Hurricane Michael impacts the Gulf Coast, Georgia Power is ready to respond to power outages as quickly and safely as possible with nearly 3,000 personnel from the company and assisting utilities. Crews are continuing to mobilize from unaffected areas across Georgia over the next 24 hours and are strategically positioning throughout the state ready to re-enter central and south Georgia, and other areas, as Hurricane Michael subsides.

Damage assessment teams will be the first to enter affected areas and will relay critical field information so restoration teams can be dispatched as safely and efficiently as possible. Additional resources are available as part of the Southern Company system, which includes multiple electric and gas companies serving more than 9 million customers.

Georgia Power wants customers to remain informed throughout the storm and reminds residents to keep safety first by following simple safety tips:
• Before a Storm: Stay aware and check the weather forecast before heading outdoors. If an outage occurs, turn off air conditioners as power surges can overload them and charge cell phones in case you lose power.
• During a Storm: Take safe shelter inside a sturdy building away from windows and doors. Avoid contact with conductors of electricity - appliances, metal objects and water.
• After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off of power lines yourself or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage.

Tools You Can Use
• Outage Alerts: Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.
• Outage & Storm Center: Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
• Outage Map: Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power's interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
• Georgia Power Mobile App: Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
• @GeorgiaPower on Twitter: Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.

Georgia Power's electric generating plants are also prepared for Hurricane Michael. Power plants, including coal, natural gas and nuclear plants, are built to be robust and highly secure and incorporate multiple layers of protection including structural strength, highly trained operators and security forces, and proven emergency plans. Safety systems at U.S. nuclear plants, including Georgia's Plants Vogtle and Hatch, are designed to withstand significant hazard events, including hurricane force winds and flooding.

Georgia Power is part of a national mutual assistance network consisting of dozens of utilities from around the country. As part of this partnership, Georgia Power can provide assistance to or receive assistance from other utilities when service to customers is interrupted due to severe weather. In preparation for potential impacts, Georgia will not release crews to other states to assist in Michael restoration until service to all Georgia Power customers has been evaluated and addressed.

Just last year, Hurricane Irma broke or damaged approximately 1,500 power poles, and more than 2,400 trees brought down nearly 230 miles of wire across the state. Georgia Power restored power to nearly one million customers impacted by Hurricane Irma quickly and safely by fully deploying company resources and leveraging the mutual assistance network in the week following the storm.

Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power). </s> The steady march of Hurricane Matthew has left more than 1 million customers in Florida without power.State officials released updated totals on Friday that showed that the powerful Category 3 storm had knocked out electricity over a wide stretch of the state's eastern coast. Most of the customers in Flagler and Volusia County - the home to Daytona Beach - were without power. Other hard hit areas include Brevard and Indian River counties.The storm was strong enough to also cause outages in Central Florida. More than 100,000 who live in the Orlando area are without electricity.Hurricane Matthew scraped Florida's Atlantic coast early Friday, toppling trees onto homes but sparing some of the most heavily populated stretches of shoreline the catastrophic blow many had feared.The St. Lucie County, Florida, sheriff confirmed a person died overnight when emergency officials could not get to the person after suspending operations because of the storm.Authorities warned that the danger was far from over, with hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina still under threat of torrential rain and dangerous storm surge as the hurricane pushed north."Remember, it could be the worst of it is yet to come," Fla. Gov. Rick Scott said in the morning.Several more communities on the South Carolina coast are imposing curfews as the winds and rains of Hurricane Matthew approach the state. The worse of the storm is expected to move in overnight and Matthew is expected to be just off Charleston about daybreak as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds.Charleston, North Charleston, and Mount Pleasant are all imposing curfews from midnight Friday through 6 a.m. on Saturday. Officials say they don't want people driving or walking around while law officers and emergency workers have to deal with issues related to the storm.In Beaufort County a curfew will be in effect from dusk Friday through dawn on Saturday.Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, and its storm center hung just offshore as it moved up the Florida coastline, sparing communities its full 120 mph winds. Still, it got close enough to knock down trees and power lines, and a 107 mph gust was recorded at Cape Canaveral.As the storm closed in, an estimated 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were warned to move inland to escape the fury of the most powerful hurricane to menace the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade.Matthew left more than 280 people dead in its wake across the Caribbean.As it moved on to Florida, it largely skirted the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach areas of over 7 million people and hugged closer to the coast farther north, menacing such communities as Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville.Some people who refused to evacuate were stranded and called for help early Friday but were told to stay put until conditions improved enough for paramedics and firefighters to get to them, said emergency operations spokesman David Waters in Brevard County, the home of Cape Canaveral."A family called in that the roof just flew off their home on Merritt Island," Waters said.It was a scene officials hoped to avoid in other cities as the storm pushed north.In Jacksonville, where 500,000 people were told to evacuate, Mayor Lenny Curry warned that authorities would not be able to help them during the worst of the storm."You need to leave. If you do not leave you will be on your own," Curry said.Despite warnings, many people along the Florida coast decided to take their chances.In Cape Canaveral, John Long rode out the storm in his 32-foot camper in a park a half-mile from the beach.He lost power shortly before dawn but quickly fired up his generator. Small tree branches battered the vehicle but the large ones on the park's giant oak trees didn't fall."It was kind of loud and kind of shaky but nothing that caused too much concern," he said.Robert Tyler had feared a storm surge would flood his street, which is only two blocks from the Cape Canaveral beach. But he and his wife, Georgette, felt fortunate Friday morning when they looked out the front door of their one-story cinderblock apartment and there wasn't much water.Tree branches littered the road, and he could hear transformers exploding overnight, but his home didn't appear to have damage on first inspection, and his vehicles were unharmed."Overnight, it was scary as heck. That description of a freight train is pretty accurate. At one point it felt like the windows were going to blow even though they all were covered with plywood," he said.Florida's governor called it a "blessing" that so far Florida was avoiding a direct hit as the storm sliced northward.Still, forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and cause a storm surge of 9 feet or more. They said the major threat to the Southeast would not be the winds - which newer buildings can withstand - but the massive surge of seawater that could wash over coastal communities.The Fort Lauderdale and Orlando airports shut down. Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights Thursday and Friday, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Amtrak suspended train service between Miami and New York, and cruise lines rerouted ships to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea.Orlando's world-famous theme parks - Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld - all closed.Thousands of people hunkered down in schools converted to shelters, and inland hotels in places such as Charlotte, North Carolina, reported brisk business.The last Category 3 storm or higher to hit the U.S. was Wilma in October 2005. It sliced across Florida with 120 mph winds, killing five people and causing an estimated $21 billion in damage.
The storm causes power outages to 550,000 customers in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, and 375,000 people in 22 counties have been ordered to evacuate.