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   (CNN) The devastation left by Hurricane Michael in several states is still coming into focus, with coastal Florida cities destroyed beyond recognition, and homes, businesses and agriculture torn or swamped from Georgia to Virginia. 
   
   More than 1 million customers were left without electricity, and emergency officials have no access to many towns. The US death toll has risen to at least 17 -- including five in Virginia and eight in Florida -- and it's expected to climb. 
   
   "I expect the fatality count to rise today and tomorrow as we get through the debris," Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said Friday morning. 
   
   Michael, which smacked Florida's Panhandle as one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the United States, left Virginia's coast as a post-tropical low early Friday -- and its trail of destruction will take weeks to take into account. 
   
   Sen. Bill Nelson called the devastation left by Michael "the worst destruction that the Panhandle has seen for however long that I've been living. It's akin to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 where everything was leveled." 
   
   Aerial footage shows coastal cities in the Panhandle, like Mexico Beach , wiped out. Search teams used dogs as they combed the area for people killed or trapped in debris. 
   
   One death was reported in Mexico Beach -- that of an elderly man found alone, Mayor Al Cathey said. The man's name has not been released, but authorities said his body was found several hundred yards away from his home. 
   
   City manager Tanya Castro said Mexico Beach won't be up and running for 12 to 18 months. 
   
   Nelson said there are not enough resources -- food, shelter and water -- for those in Mexico Beach who stayed and for those residents returning. In Panama City, he said "there's going to be a period of time that it's difficult to get supplies in." 
   
   Dawn Vickers rode out the storm in Mexico Beach, but her house and vehicles were demolished. Without cell phone service or transportation, she has been taking shelter in one of the few condos left standing, invited by someone she met at what's left of a gas station. 
   
   "This has been the worst nightmare I've ever been through in my life," she told CNN on Friday. 
   
   A psychiatric hospital in Florida is isolated after downed trees blocked roads around Chattahoochee, and a tree caused a water line to break. The facility is running on power generators, and helicopters have delivered food and water, the state's Department of Children and Families said. 
   
   Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Florida Gov. Rick Scott tour a Lynn Haven, Florida, neighborhood that was affected by Hurricane Michael. Hide Caption 1 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Lisa Patrick is overcome with emotion as she visits the remains of her home in Mexico Beach, Florida, on Monday, October 15. Hide Caption 2 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction The President and first lady hand out bottles of water to people in Lynn Haven on October 15. Hide Caption 3 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction The Trumps tour damage in Lynn Haven. Hide Caption 4 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction President Trump flies over the devastation in Mexico Beach. Hide Caption 5 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Mexico Beach residents make their way across a washed-out road on Friday, October 12. Hide Caption 6 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction An aerial view shows the devastation in Mexico Beach on October 12. The small beach resort saw the brunt of Michael, authorities say. Hide Caption 7 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Dough Shelby looks out at the destruction from his house in Mexico Beach on October 12. Hide Caption 8 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Little remains of a burned home destroyed by the hurricane in Mexico Beach on October 12. Hide Caption 9 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Benny Hobson sits in his recliner on Thursday, October 11, after losing the front wall of his house in Panama City, Florida. Hide Caption 10 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Storm-damaged boats are piled up in Panama City on October 11. Hide Caption 11 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Elizabeth Hanson, right, and her daughter Emaly hug their neighbor Cindy Clark on October 11. The hurricane heavily damaged their homes in Mexico Beach. Hide Caption 12 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Collector cars are covered in debris in Panama City on October 11. Hide Caption 13 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Tom Bailey walks his bike past a home that was carried across a road and slammed up against a condo complex in Mexico Beach. Hide Caption 14 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Joyce Fox stands in front of her heavily damaged home in Panama City on October 11. Hide Caption 15 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A boat sits amid debris in Mexico Beach on October 11. Hide Caption 16 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Kylie Strampe holds her 4-month-old daughter, Lola, while surveying the damage in Callaway, Florida, on October 11. Hide Caption 17 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Trees snapped by Michael's winds are seen in Mexico Beach on October 11. Hide Caption 18 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Amanda Logsdon faces a heavy cleanup task at her Panama City house on October 11. Hide Caption 19 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Rescue personnel search Mexico Beach. Hide Caption 20 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A man walks through a damaged store in Springfield, Florida. Hide Caption 21 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction An aerial photo shows a destroyed boat in Mexico Beach on October 11. Hide Caption 22 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A tree sits on top of a Panama City mobile home. Almost all the residents of the mobile-home park rode out the storm. All homes were damaged except one. Hide Caption 23 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Kathy Coy stands among what is left of her home in Panama City. She said she was in the home when it was blown apart and is thankful to be alive. Hide Caption 24 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction The view from a Panama City hotel room that lost a wall in the storm. Hide Caption 25 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Firefighter Austin Schlarb performs a door-to-door search in Mexico Beach on October 11. Hide Caption 26 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Damaged buildings are seen in Panama City on October 11. Hide Caption 27 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Debris is scattered in Mexico Beach early on October 11. Hide Caption 28 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Wreckage is piled up in Mexico Beach, near where Michael made landfall. Hide Caption 29 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Debris burns in Mexico Beach on October 11. Hide Caption 30 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Haley Nelson inspects damage at her family properties in the Panama City area on Wednesday, October 10. Hide Caption 31 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Cars are tossed among the debris in Mexico Beach. Hide Caption 32 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Kaylee O'Brian cries inside her Panama City home after several trees fell on it on October 10. Hide Caption 33 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Floodwaters overwhelm vehicles in Panama City on Wednesday, October 10. Hide Caption 34 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A storm chaser climbs into his vehicle to retrieve equipment after a hotel canopy collapsed in Panama City Beach on October 10. Hide Caption 35 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A helicopter circles a Panama City neighborhood in the storm's wake on October 10. Hide Caption 36 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A woman and her children wait near a destroyed gas station in Panama City on October 10. Hide Caption 37 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A McDonald's sign is mangled in Panama City on October 10. Hide Caption 38 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Boats are left damaged in a Panama City marina on October 10. Hide Caption 39 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction People comfort each other outside an apartment building in Panama City. Hide Caption 40 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction People make their way through a building's wreckage in Panama City on October 10. Hide Caption 41 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction The powerful hurricane left houses battered in Panama City Beach. Hide Caption 42 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Phlomena Telker stands on the remains of her covered porch in Panama City. Hide Caption 43 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Boats are damaged at the Port St. Joe Marina in the Florida Panhandle. Hide Caption 44 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Lenora Adams evacuates a motel with her dog as the hurricane comes ashore in Panacea, Florida, on October 10. Hide Caption 45 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Rick Tesk, left, helps a business owner rescue his dogs from a damaged business in Panama City. Hide Caption 46 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Wrecked boats sit near a pier in Panama City. Hide Caption 47 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A resident of St. Marks, Florida, pulls a cooler out of the floodwaters near his home. Hide Caption 48 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Pine trees litter a yard in Port St. Joe. Hide Caption 49 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Streets begin to flood as high tide approaches in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10. Hide Caption 50 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Mike Lindsey stands in his Panama City antique shop after it was damaged by Hurricane Michael on October 10. Hide Caption 51 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Trees lie on top of a home in Panama City. Hide Caption 52 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Bo Lynn's Market is flooded in St. Marks on October 10. Hide Caption 53 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A truck drives along a road in Alligator Point, Florida, that had been washed out by the storm on October 10. Hide Caption 54 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Waves hit a house in Alligator Point on October 10. Hide Caption 55 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction The eye of the storm, as seen from the International Space Station on October 10. Hide Caption 56 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A woman checks on her vehicle after a hotel canopy collapsed in Panama City Beach. Hide Caption 57 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Mitchell Pope tries to salvage what he can from his mobile home in St. Marks. Hide Caption 58 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction This boat ran aground at Florida's Quietwater Beach. Hide Caption 59 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Jayden Morgan, 11, evacuates his home as water starts to flood his neighborhood in St. Marks. Hide Caption 60 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction A person takes pictures of the surf and fishing pier on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Hide Caption 61 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Emily Hindle lies on the floor at an evacuation shelter set up at a Panama City Beach high school on October 10. Hide Caption 62 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Kathy Eaton takes what she can from her Panama City Beach home as she tries to get out of the way of the storm on October 10. Hide Caption 63 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Justin Davis, left, and Brock Mclean board up a business in Destin, Florida, on Tuesday, October 9. Hide Caption 64 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Krystal Day, left, leads a sandbag assembly line at the Old Port Cove restaurant in Ozello, Florida, on October 9. Hide Caption 65 of 66 Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction Workers scramble to store boats at Shields Marina in St. Marks. Hide Caption 66 of 66 
   
   Key developments 
   
   • No electricity: At least 1.15 million customers in seven states are without power, including 383,000 in Virginia, 365,000 in North Carolina and 301,613 in Florida. 
   
   • 17 killed: Eight people have died in Florida, including three fatalities announced Friday in Jackson County, north of Apalachicola. One of those deaths was due to debris, authorities said, and circumstances of the other two deaths were not immediately known. Five people died in Virginia. Four of those drowned, and the fifth was a firefighter who died in a storm-related crash on Interstate 295 in Hanover County, officials said. Three people in North Carolina and a child in Georgia also died. 
   
   • Severe crop damage: Georgia officials are receiving reports of damage to pecan, cotton, vegetable and peanut crops. "For me the cotton crop is as bad as it gets. I was picking three bale cotton (this week); today it is gone," cotton farmer and state Rep. Clay Pirkle said. "Can't tell the difference between what I've picked and what I haven't." 
   
   • Poultry industry: Georgia's Department of Agriculture said it received reports that Georgia's Department of Agriculture said it received reports that 84 chicken houses -- estimated to hold more than 2 million chickens -- were destroyed in the storm. 
   
   • Public health emergency declared in Georgia: The move will help ensure those who rely on Medicare and Medicaid have access to the care they need, US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. 
   
   Mexico Beach was one of the hardest hit areas by Hurricane Michael. 
   
   Flooding in the Carolinas and Virginia 
   
   The rapid-moving rainfall from Michael triggered flash floods in parts of Virginia and the Carolinas, including areas threatened by swollen rivers during Hurricane Florence. 
   
   Hundreds of residents were rescued Thursday from cars, apartments and homes flooded by rushing water. 
   
   President Donald Trump tweeted his sympathy for people affected by the storm, saying, "People have no idea how hard Hurricane Michael has hit the great state of Georgia. I will be visiting both Florida and Georgia early next week. We are working very hard on every area and every state that was hit - we are with you!" 
   
   People have no idea how hard Hurricane Michael has hit the great state of Georgia. I will be visiting both Florida and Georgia early next week. We are working very hard on every area and every state that was hit - we are with you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2018 
   
   In Virginia, the Roanoke River jumped its banks and flooded nearby homes and businesses. Cory Patirlo, who lives near the river, said the impact was unexpected. It was the first time he had nearly 2 feet of water in his home. 
   
   "It wasn't going to get this high, realistically. It never has," he told CNN affiliate WDBJ. 
   
   "I'm gonna be sleeping in my van, with my dogs." 
   
   Video that Trina Lockhart posted on Twitter showed drivers making their way cautiously though a flooded Roanoke street Thursday afternoon. 
   
   In the southern Virginia city of Danville, floodwaters turned the Grove Park neighborhood into a virtual lake Thursday, and firefighters checked on a nearly submerged car, photos taken by Jim Heffinger show. 
   
   The water receded within hours in some areas, and cleanup was underway Friday. Some people are expected to remain in shelters through the weekend as river levels go down. 
   
   In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said first responders rescued nearly 100 people and evacuated many more this week in the face of flash flooding. 
   
   Fallen trees have left hundreds of primary and secondary roads closed, he said. 
   
   Florida residents return to broken homes 
   
   Thousands of residents in the Florida Panhandle are slowly returning to their homes and discovering that everything or almost everything they owned has been reduced to rubble. 
   
   Linda Clarke gasped repeatedly at the sight of her once new home in Shell Point Beach -- now severely damaged. 
   
   "But you know what ... it's just stuff, it's just stuff," she told her husband, Raoul, as they walked through the ruins. "It's just stuff we can replace." 
   
   There is not much left of what used to be the parish hall of St. Dominic Catholic Church in Panama City. Despite the destruction, the Rev. Luke Farabaugh and his congregation celebrated Mass on Thursday. 
   
   "Things, we can replace," Farabaugh said on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront." "We've seen a lot of signs of hope. ... I've been telling people ... to have hope. 
   
   "Hope is that even if the storm does come, even if I lose my car, my house, my family, even if I lose my life, blessed be God," he said. "Our reward isn't just in this life but in the life to come. So we're just trying to give people hope at this point." 
   
   The hurricane carried a home across a road and slammed it against a condo complex in Mexico Beach. 
   
   In Mexico Beach, Councilwoman Linda Albrecht learned through online news video that her home was gone. 
   
   "Everything in my house, it was almost like it was pushed back with a bulldozer," she said 
   
   "Mexico Beach needs your prayers," Albrecht said of the town of about 1,200 people. "It's not the Mexico Beach we know." 
   
   But there are signs of recovery. 
   
   Delta Airlines said it resumed all operations at airports impacted by Hurricane Michael, including Panama City Airport. 
   
   The City of Tallahassee reported that 90% of the traffic lights in the city were back online Friday and that power had been restored to 38,000 customers. 
   
   Several businesses in the city have reopened, including Walmart, Target and various gas stations. 
   
   On St. George Island, a 28-mile-long and 1-mile-wide island off the Panhandle, a few dozen people didn't evacuate and as the storm raged, those who stayed were surrounded by oncoming water. Security camera video shows water creating its own current in the streets of one neighborhood. 
   
   "There were a few points and times when I thought it could happen, that I could die," said Tiara Walker, who stayed in an apartment on the island. "There was a point in time where I thought the roof was going to fly away, so I flipped a couch over and just tried to prepare for the worst situation." 
   
   'A freak accident' 
   
   Sarah Radney saw trees falling down all around her grandparents' home when Hurricane Michael roared over Georgia. She was safe until a carport came crashing through the roof , killing her. 
   
   "It was just a freak accident, I never heard of anything like that," said her father, Roy Radney. 
   
   Sarah, 11, had just started the sixth grade and joined the drama club and the band. Her father says she loved playing the trumpet, acting and singing. 
   
   A man who died when a tree fell on a home near Greensboro, Florida, has been identified as Steven Sweet, 44, according to Lt. Anglie Hightower, the spokeswoman for the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office. CNN's Anderson Cooper said Friday on "AC360" that Sweet managed a local car dealership. His wife, Gayle Sweet, was with him when he died. 
   
   Here's what we know so far about some of the 17 and counting who did not survive Hurricane Michael https://t.co/wc4NyV6S73 pic.twitter.com/jwxTXFYF49 — Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) October 13, 2018 
   
   "He's one of a kind, so kind he'll help anybody. Always giving money to people at the stop sign and stuff. He would help anybody," Gayle Sweet said of her husband. 
   
   Three others died in Gadsden County, Hightower said. Authorities did not discuss the circumstances of their deaths, but their bodies have been taken to the medical examiner's office to determine the cause of death. 
   
   In North Carolina, a 38-year-old man died when a large tree fell on his vehicle Thursday on US 64 east of Statesville, Iredell County Fire Marshal David Souther said. 
   
   Cooper also said Friday that firefighter Lt. Brad Clark, 43, was killed when a tractor trailer lost control on a rainy highway and hit his truck in Hanover County, Virginia. A colleague said he loved the military, loved his family and loved the fire service dearly. 
   
   Two people also were killed Thursday night in Marion, North Carolina, when their vehicle struck a tree that had fallen because of high winds, said Adrienne Jones, deputy director for the McDowell County Emergency Medical Services. 
   
   In Nottoway County, Virginia, state police and local authorities were searching for a missing motorist, said Jeffrey Stern, the director of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management Agency. Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Gary Settle said crews recovered a vehicle but not the person known to be in it. 
   
   Hundreds of people have been rescued from the debris, and authorities fear the toll could climb higher as search-and-rescue efforts continue. 
   
   Elizabeth Hanson, right, and daughter Emaly hug their neighbor Cindy Clark in Mexico Beach. 
   
   Lack of resources 
   
   Sen. Nelson said Friday on "AC360" that Mexico Beach does not not have enough shelters, water or food. 
   
   Nelson said Panama City was "a city in the dark." A cavalry of utility trucks arrived Friday in Bay County, Florida, according to post from the Panama City Beach Government Facebook page. 
   
   The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved individual assistance families in for Jackson, Liberty, Calhoun and Gadsden counties Friday according to a press release from Florida Gov. Rick Scott's office. 
   
   The approval expands the individual assistance program — the original major disaster declaration made individual assistance available in five Florida counties: Bay, Franklin, Gulf, Taylor, Wakulla. 
   
   Damage from Hurricane Michael in Marianna, Florida. 
   
   Jackson County Emergency Management Director Rodney Andreassen said the county is hoping to get two or three trailers worth of food and water from FEMA but had not yet received them. 
   
   A distribution center set up at a Walmart in Jackson County handed out food for a few hours Friday and will be open again Saturday. A Red Cross shelter with food and water has also been set up at Marianna High School 
   
   The impact of climate change on storms 
   
   Michael's strength may reflect the effect of climate change on storms. The planet has warmed significantly over the past several decades, causing changes in the environment. 
   
   Human-caused greenhouse gases in the atmosphere create an energy imbalance, with more than 90% of remaining heat trapped by the gases going into the oceans, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. 
   
   While we might not get more storms in a warmer climate, most studies show storms will get stronger and produce more rain. Storm surge is worse now than it was 100 years ago, thanks to the rise in sea levels. 
   
   And unless the rate of greenhouse gas emissions changes, hurricanes are expected to intensify more rapidly in the coming decades, the scientific research group Climate Central said. 
   
   Get the latest delivered to your inbox: Sign up for storm email alerts here. 
   
   CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect surname for storm victim Steven Sweet. It has been corrected. ||||| Hurricane Michael is no more. The violent storm that ripped through the Southeast, leaving a trail of death and destruction from Florida to Virginia, finally moved off the coast over the Atlantic Ocean overnight. It is now known as Post-Tropical Cyclone Michael. 
   
   Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane — the strongest on record to hit the area — and charged north through Georgia and into the Carolinas and Virginia, wreaking havoc and causing emergencies. In the storm’s wake lay crushed and flooded buildings, shattered lives and at least 11 deaths that state and local officials have linked to the storm, with authorities investigating another three deaths. 
   
   5:12 p.m.: North of Panama City, long waits for gas, food 
   
   FOUNTAIN, Fla. — When everything else was closed, Buck’s Piggly Wiggly Express opened with fuel and food. A line of cars extended a quarter mile, and the queue to enter the convenience store was so long, it took buyers more than 30 minutes to get in. 
   
   Ann Jackson, 62, had heard the store in Fountain, Fla., about 30 miles north of Panama City, was selling water and other supplies, so she and her two daughters had rushed to it. They stood in line for 40 minutes to get in. Each family was allowed to buy 20 items and two cases of water. They had to limit their gas purchase to $15. 
   
   Jackson had prepared for the hurricane with supplies for three to four days. It wasn’t supposed to be a category 5 storm, she said, so she thought she had enough. Now, the drinking water was running low in their home about 20 minutes south from the store. 
   
   “This wasn’t our first hurricane, but it was way worse,” said Jackson, who lived through Opal years ago. For that storm, she said, they were without power for seven days. Now she worries the electricity won’t come back for weeks. She does have faith, she said, that the Walmart where she works will open with days and supplies will be more available. 
   
   But Friday, Jackson was relieved to have found Piggly Wiggly open. She and her three daughters split up to get the shopping done, each assigned some necessities. She got water, bleach to make the toilet last longer without flushing, charcoal for the grill, plastic cups, plates and toilet paper. And a treat for her two grandchildren – a watermelon slushie. 
   
   Store owner Allen Spikes said the store was luckily spared from major damage, and he was soon on task to put a generator to work to get it open. Friday, he had two semis deliver water, and as customers lined up outside, store workers continued to stock up the water shelves. He was expecting one more fuel delivery on Friday and Saturday. 
   
   “People are desperate. They need supplies,” he said, as he and his wife Rachel worked the ice machine and talked to customers. “I am just glad we can serve our community.” 
   
   Jackson and her family were grateful. 
   
   “This will get us through a few more days,” she said. “All this will go away. But it’s going to be a long time to recover.” 
   
   — Luz Lazo 
   
   4:53 p.m.: Virginia continues search for missing woman 
   
   The Virginia State Police said Friday afternoon that officials were continuing to search for a woman swept away when the vehicle she was riding in was stranded on a bridge along Mt. Harmony Road. The state’s death toll from the storm remained five people late Friday afternoon, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. 
   
   — Mark Berman 
   
   3:50 p.m.: The impact Michael left far inland 
   
   Although the obliterated beachfront communities have gotten most of the media attention, rescue operations are underway far inland. Many people in the Florida Panhandle live on dirt roads now completely blocked by fallen trees. 
   
   Rescue teams that can’t reach rural residents by vehicle are having to go on foot, said Sean Collins, 47, a retired firefighter in Marianna, Fla. 
   
   “We don’t know if some of the elderly who live back in these woods, are they okay and have they been contacted,” Collins said. 
   
   Marianna is about 50 miles from the coast and took a direct hit from the eye of the storm. Buildings downtown were badly damaged. Collins estimated that 100 percent of homes and vehicles were damaged in some way. 
   
   But because Marianna is so far from the coast – nearer to Alabama than to Panama City – residents did not evacuate, Collins said. 
   
   “Nobody thought it was going to be this devastating,” he said. 
   
   — Joel Achenbach 
   
   2 p.m.: North Carolina, Georgia report additional storm deaths 
   
   Authorities in North Carolina and Georgia confirmed additional deaths in those states, pushing the number of fatalities officials have linked to the storm to at least 11 people as of Friday afternoon, with three more deaths being investigated. 
   
   North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said two people — a man and a woman — were killed in McDowell County when their car hit a large tree that had fallen on the road. State and local officials previously said a man in the state was killed Thursday when a tree fell on his car in Iredell County. 
   
   “We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the loved ones and friends of those killed,” Cooper said in a statement. 
   
   Meanwhile, officials in Georgia confirmed that a second life had been lost there, after an 11-year-old girl in Seminole County was killed while in a mobile home when the wind hurled a metal carport into the air. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency on Friday morning said another person had died in the state. The agency declined to provide additional details on the death beyond saying it occurred in Wayne County. 
   
   Virginia authorities said they had confirmed five deaths there and had one person still missing Friday. 
   
   In Gadsden County, Fla., the sheriff’s office said Thursday they had four “storm-related fatalities following Hurricane Michael,” although they had only confirmed the details of one death: a man killed when a tree crashed through the roof of his home. A spokeswoman said Friday the four deaths had been forwarded to the medical examiner’s office, but additional details were not immediately available. 
   
   Authorities have warned that the storm’s death toll was likely to climb as they were able to head into the areas — like Mexico Beach, Fla. — that endured particular damage this week. FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long said he believed that the toll would increase, particularly as first responders got into places like Mexico Beach. 
   
   “Unfortunately, I think you’re going to see that number climb,” Long said Friday morning. “I hope we don’t see it climb dramatically.” 
   
   — Mark Berman 
   
   12:10 p.m.: Five dead, one missing in Virginia after storm 
   
   Five people are dead and one is still missing in Virginia after the area was hit by Hurricane Michael. In Charlotte County, three people became stranded in a vehicle on a bridge along Mt. Harmony Road, according to state police. 
   
   When rescuers arrived, they were clinging to the railings of a bridge as high waters surrounded them. A local sheriff’s deputy saved a 17-year-old man using a human chain with law enforcement officers, local residents and rope, officials said, but a man and a woman – who police said are related to the teenager – were swept away. Rescuers found the body of the man overnight and the woman is still missing. 
   
   [Before and after images of Hurricane Michael] 
   
   In Pittsylvania County, a 45-year-old man died after he was swept away from his vehicle. A sheriff’s deputy and a local resident tried to rescue James E. King Jr., state police said, but the floodwaters were too deep and too swift. 
   
   In Hanover County, a firefighter died and four others were injured, including three seriously, after a tractor trailer crashed into them as they tried to help with another crash involving two vehicles along Interstate 295 outside Mechanicsville, Va. 
   
   And in Danville, two people died after being swept away by flood waters. One man, William Lynn Tanksley, 53, was swept from his vehicle during flash flooding at around 5 p.m. Thursday. Another person, who police have not yet identified, was stranded in a car overcome by flooding at around 10:20 p.m. 
   
   — Dana Hedgpeth 
   
   10:04 a.m.: FEMA chief warns the death toll likely to climb 
   
   FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long said Friday morning that the death toll from Hurricane Michael is likely to go up as rescue workers are able to venture more deeply into the areas devastated by the storm. 
   
   Authorities as of Friday morning had confirmed 11 deaths in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, but they have repeatedly warned that this number could go up. Long reiterated that during a news briefing in Washington, saying that authorities have yet to fully explore areas like Mexico Beach, Fla., which Long has called “ground zero” after it was pummeled by the hurricane. 
   
   “Unfortunately, I think you’re going to see that number climb,” Long said. “I hope we don’t see it climb dramatically. But I have reasons to believe — we haven’t gotten into some of the hardest hit areas, particularly the Mexico Beach area.” 
   
   Long said the storm posed a direct threat to people who ignored warnings and evacuation orders on the coastlines, particularly given the threat of storm surge capable of tearing apart and flattening buildings. 
   
   “Very few people live to tell what it’s like to experience storm surge,” he said. 
   
   Long asked people in the areas directly hit by the storm to be patient for what is poised to be a long recovery, because it will take time to assess the damage and confront the destruction. 
   
   “This is going to be a frustrating event,” he said. “It takes time to put things back together.” 
   
   Long, who plans to head to the area hit by the storm over the weekend, said that in Bay County, Fla. — home to Mexico Beach — “it’s not safe to return,” given the downed power lines and other debris littering the region. 
   
   “Quite honestly, it’s a dangerous area to go back into,” he said. 
   
   — Mark Berman 
   
   8:55 a.m.: In final advisory, hurricane center says Michael’s remnants are moving toward the sea 
   
   The National Hurricane Center on Friday morning posted its final advisory for the storm formerly known as Hurricane Michael, writing that the “post-tropical cyclone” was trundling northeast and heading for the Atlantic. 
   
   The forecast calls for the storm’s center to “move away from the United States today and move rapidly across the open Atlantic Ocean” beginning Friday night and through Sunday. 
   
   The storm is still expected to produce storm surge flooding along the North Carolina coast, though that should diminish Friday, along with powerful winds in the mid-Atlantic in the early part of the day. The storm is even expected to drop some rain on New England and could produce up to 5 inches of rain in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, while flash flooding remains possible from the heavy rain left behind in the Carolinas and elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic. 
   
   — Mark Berman 
   
   8:40 a.m.: Tyndall Air Force base “took a beating,” commander says 
   
   When Hurricane Michael swept ashore in northwestern Florida, it delivered a punishing shot to Tyndall Air Force base, which sits between Panama City and Mexico Beach, not far from where the storm made landfall. 
   
   The “base took a beating,” Col. Brian S. Laidlaw, the installation’s commander and commander of the 325th Fighter Wing, wrote in a letter to the people who call it home. 
   
   “By now you already know that Tyndall Air Force Base requires extensive cleanup and repairs,” Laidlaw wrote. “I will not recall you and your families until we can guarantee your safety.” 
   
   Laidlaw said he did not know how long the cleanup would take, but asked for patience because of the work involved. 
   
   “We need to restore basic utilities, clear our roads of trees and power lines, and assess the structural integrity of our buildings,” he wrote. He added: “We can rebuild our base, but we can’t rebuild any of you.” 
   
   — Mark Berman 
   
   7:59 a.m.: Five deaths reported in Virginia 
   
   The known death toll from Michael now stands at 11, after this sobering bulletin from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management: 
   
   Virginia storm updates as of 7 a.m today. 5 confirmed Michael-related fatalities. 520,000 without power. 1,200 closed roads. 5 suspected tornadoes. — VDEM (@VDEM) October 12, 2018 
   
   Four of the deaths were related to people being swept away in floodwaters along roads; the fifth was a firefighter who was killed in a crash along a highway, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. 
   
   In one incident, Virginia State Police said James E. King Jr., 45, of Dry Fork, Va., was swept away from his vehicle after he got caught Thursday afternoon in a flash flood in Pittsylvania County. 
   
   A local sheriff’s deputy and a local resident tried to rescue him but police said the “floodwaters were too deep and too swift” for them to reach him. Around 10:37 p.m., his body was found. 
   
   A firefighter in Hanover County was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer and three other firefighters were seriously injured as they tried to help with another crash on Interstate 295. The driver of the tractor-trailer also suffered serious injuries. 
   
   Authorities in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina had previously linked at least six deaths to the storm, a toll officials have worried will continue to rise as search-and-rescue efforts continue. 
   
   In Florida, the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office reported four deaths related to the storm. A spokeswoman said that one man was killed when a tree crashed through the roof of his home in Greensboro. The sheriff’s office said that it also had three other “storm-related fatalities following Hurricane Michael,” although it did not immediately release further information about what happened beyond saying that all four deaths were “in relation to or occurred during the storm.” 
   
   Gadsden, a county in northwest Florida not far from Tallahassee, took a direct shot from Michael as it churned northward on Wednesday. 
   
   In North Carolina, a 38-year-old man was killed Thursday afternoon shortly before 1 p.m. in Iredell County, north of Charlotte, when a tree fell on the vehicle he was driving, according to David Souther, the county’s fire marshal. 
   
   And in Georgia, officials in Seminole County, on the Florida border, said early Thursday that an 11-year-old girl in a mobile home was killed by a metal carport that was thrown in the air by Michael’s gusting winds. 
   
   William “Brock” Long, the FEMA administrator, said Thursday that “search and rescue is where we are hyper-focused this morning.” He warned that the death toll may go up, saying in an appearance on CNN that “those numbers could climb as search-and-rescue teams get out.” 
   
   Motorists must adjust driving to road conditions caused by the storm. Slow down. DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS. This causes most storm-related fatalities. Remember, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.” Call 511 for the latest road conditions. #MichaelVA — VDEM (@VDEM) October 12, 2018 
   
   — J. Freedom du Lac, Dana Hedgpeth and Mark Berman 
   
   7:13 a.m.: More than a million power outages reported 
   
   “You fix the power, you solve a lot of problems,” FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long said Thursday, of the post-Michael recovery and cleanup efforts. 
   
   There’s a lot left to fix: Nearly 1.5 million people throughout the Southeast woke up without power Friday, including more than a half-million in Virginia — mostly in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas, according to Dominion Energy. There are about 425,000 outages in North Carolina, according to a Duke Energy spokeswoman. The Florida State Emergency Response Team reported more than 350,000 outages. 
   
   — J. Freedom du Lac 
   
   6:19 a.m.: ‘All coastal tropical cyclone warnings and watches are discontinued’ 
   
   The National Hurricane Center’s first public advisory arrived with little notice on Oct. 6, a Saturday. Michael wasn’t even a named storm then; it was simply “Potential Tropical Cyclone Fourteen,” and the center noted that it was “getting better organized over the northwestern Caribbean Sea.” 
   
   By the following day, the storm had its name — and by Monday, the center was sounding the alarm about Michael’s potential impacts on the United States. 
   
   Landfall came quickly — on Wednesday, along Florida’s “Forgotten Coast” — and Michael was as bad as advertised, delivering a devastating blow before heading north. 
   
   Now, it is gone. Early Friday, in “Post-Tropical Cyclone Michael Advisory Number 23,” the National Hurricane Center wrote that Michael had moved away from the United States, and that “all coastal tropical cyclone warnings and watches are discontinued.” 
   
   There may be lingering effects, though, the center wrote: “Gale winds may continue for a few more hours over portions of southeastern Virginia, the southern Chesapeake Bay, and the Delmarva Peninsula.” 
   
   And: “Michael is expected to produce 1 to 3 inches of rain from New Jersey to Long Island to Cape Cod, and 3 to 5 inches over Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard through this afternoon.” 
   
   And: “This rainfall could lead to flash flooding. Elsewhere, flooding and flash flooding may continue where Michael produced heavy rain very recently in the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states.” 
   
   But it is gone and done, the center noted, adding: “This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on this system.” 
   
   — J. Freedom du Lac ||||| Matthew Washington carries out items he salvaged from the damaged Thai restaurant he owns with his wife in the aftermath of hurricane Michael in Callaway, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/David... (Associated Press) 
   
   Matthew Washington carries out items he salvaged from the damaged Thai restaurant he owns with his wife in the aftermath of hurricane Michael in Callaway, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (Associated Press) 
   
   MEXICO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida authorities fielded a barrage of calls about people missing in Hurricane Michael's aftermath as search-and-rescue teams Friday made their way through ravaged neighborhoods, looking for victims dead or alive. The death toll stood at 13 across the South. 
   
   The number of dead was expected to rise, but authorities scrapped plans for setting up a temporary morgue, indicating they had yet to see signs of mass casualties from the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in nearly 50 years. 
   
   Search teams continued to pick their way through the ruins of Mexico Beach, the ground-zero town of about 1,000 people that was nearly wiped off the map when Michael blew ashore there on Wednesday with devastating 155 mph (249 kph) winds. 
   
   State officials said that by one count, 285 people in Mexico Beach defied mandatory evacuation orders and stayed behind. Whether any of them got out at some point was unclear. 
   
   Emergency officials said they have received thousands of calls asking about missing people. But with cellphone service out across vast swaths of the Florida Panhandle, officials said it is possible that some of those unaccounted for are safe and just haven't been able to contact friends or family to let them know. 
   
   Gov. Rick Scott said state officials still "do not know enough" about the fate of those who stayed behind in the region. 
   
   "We are not completely done. We are still getting down there," the governor added. 
   
   Emergency officials said they had done an initial "hasty search" of 80 percent of the stricken area, looking for the living or the dead. 
   
   Shell-shocked survivors who barely escaped with their lives told of terrifying winds, surging floodwaters and homes cracking like eggs. 
   
   Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long said he expects to see the death toll rise. 
   
   "We still haven't gotten into the hardest-hit areas," he said, adding with frustration: "Very few people live to tell what it's like to experience storm surge, and unfortunately in this country we seem to not learn the lesson." 
   
   Long expressed worry that people have suffered "hurricane amnesia." 
   
   "When state and local officials tell you to get out, dang it, do it. Get out," he said. 
   
   Officials, meanwhile, set up distribution centers outside big stores such as Wal-Mart and Publix to pass out food and water to victims. Some supplies were brought in by trucks, while others had to be delivered by helicopter because some roads had yet to be cleared. 
   
   The deaths were spread throughout the storm's vast path, from Florida to Virginia, where at least four people drowned in flooding caused by Michael's rainy remnants. Two died in North Carolina when a car smashed into a fallen tree. 
   
   On the Panhandle, Tyndall Air Force Base "took a beating," so much so that Col. Brian Laidlaw told the 3,600 men and women stationed on the base not to come back. Many of the 600 families who live there had followed orders to pack what they could in a single suitcase as they were evacuated. 
   
   A small "ride-out" team that hunkered down as the hurricane's eyewall passed directly overhead ventured out to find nearly every building severely damaged, many a complete loss. The elementary school, the flight line, the marina and the runways were devastated. 
   
   ___ 
   
   Contributors in Florida include Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Panama City, Brendan Farrington in St. Marks, Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, and Jennifer Kay and Freida Frisaro in Miami. Others include Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Maryland. 
   
   ___ 
   
   For the latest on Hurricane Michael, visit https://www.apnews.com/tag/Hurricanes
target: – Authorities in Mexico Beach, Florida, estimate that 285 people decided to stay home and try to ride out Hurricane Michael, reports the AP. As has been well reported by now, the coastal community was decimated by the storm, and authorities are now trying to figure out how many of those 285 survived. Similar situations exist elsewhere in the state, and Florida officials are fielding scores of calls from worried loved ones. Still, with cellphone service down throughout wide areas, rescue officials are holding out hope that the missing are fine and simply haven't been able to get in touch yet. As of Friday afternoon, CNN had the death toll at 13: Five in Virginia, four in Florida, three in North Carolina, and one (an 11-year-old girl) in Georgia. “Unfortunately, I think you’re going to see that number climb,” said FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long Friday morning. “I hope we don’t see it climb dramatically.” As for the storm itself, the Washington Post notes that Michael is now Post-Tropical Cyclone Michael and has moved out to sea. However, communities from New Jersey to Massachusetts could still get 3 to 5 inches of rain through Friday. More than 1 million people were without power in the affected states.