Tim Pearce | Energy Reporter
President Donald Trump issued a Major Disaster Declaration for Florida Thursday after a Category 4 hurricane tore through the state’s panhandle.
.@potus just granted #Florida request for Major Disaster Declaration. Will allow Federal aid to really increase & move faster. #sayfie
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 11, 2018
Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott requested Trump take the step Wednesday after Hurricane Michael made landfall to free up more federal resources for damaged Florida communities. (RELATED: Here’s A Look At The Destruction Caused By Hurricane Michael)
Hurricane Michael is the strongest storm on record to make landfall in the U.S. in October. Michael hit with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, not quite a Category 5 storm. Experts predicted storm surge up to 13 feet in places along Florida’s coast.
The coastal city Mexico Beach suffered a direct hit from Michael, and water up to the roofs of houses flooded the area. When the storm passed and the water retreated, the city was “gone,” CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin said.
CNN’s @BrookeBCNN is flying over Mexico Beach, Florida right now
“It’s gone… It’s gone. It’s obliterated … I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Breathtaking devastation#HurricaneMichael pic.twitter.com/fVDUenijdG
— . (@CNNJason) October 11, 2018
Panama City took serious damage from the hurricane’s strong winds. The storm blew apart buildings and uprooted trees.
This is absolutely devastating stuff up in #Panama_City.
A middle school gym completely destroyed by #HurricaneMichael. @BN9 @SpecSports360 @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/94FEYVy2vx
— CHRIS TORELLO (@TorelloSports) October 11, 2018
Members of the Cajun Navy, an informal group of boat-owners that assist rescue efforts after hurricanes, described the Florida city of Callaway as a “third world country war zone.”
“The only way I can explain it through my eyeballs is a third world country war zone,” Cajun Navy member Jason Gunderson told CNN. “It’s beyond recognition and of being repaired. There’s telephone poles down. Every single telephone pole is snapped in half — power lines on the ground, live power lines. Flooded waters, trees twisted around, buildings folded in half, no roofs — it’s a very surreal situation.”
