Hurricane Michael, nearing landfall, could be Florida Panhandle’s ‘worst storm … in a century’

By Jason Hanna, Susannah Cullinane and Faith Karimi, CNN

A terrifyingly powerful Category 4 Hurricane Michael was poised to become the strongest hurricane to hit the Florida Panhandle in recorded history Wednesday, its rapid strengthening catching some by surprise and leaving anxious officials telling those who didn\’t evacuate: It\’s time to hunker down.

\”This is the worst storm that our Florida Panhandle has seen in a century,\” Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday morning. \”Hurricane Michael is upon us, and now is the time to seek refuge.\”

The extremely dangerous Michael is expected to make landfall in the Panhandle, perhaps near Panama City and Laguna Beach, in the afternoon, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

Live updates on Hurricane Michael

Among the concerns: Flash-flooding with heavy rain; life-threatening storm surges up to 14 feet high; and devastating winds, not just in the Panhandle, but southern Alabama and Georgia.

The storm\’s center had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph Wednesday morning, and if the eyewall hits the coast with winds of that speed, it would deliver damage like a strong tornado. \”But instead of lasting 30 seconds, it lasts for one hour,\” Myers said.

\”There will be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, without power for a very long time,\” Myers said.

Key developments

\” As of 9 a.m. ET, Michael\’s center had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, and was about 80 miles south-southwest of Panama City.

\” About 3.8 million people are under hurricane warnings in Florida\’s Panhandle and Big Bend regions, along with parts of southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia. Tropical storm warnings cover 15.9 million people in several states.

\” Six airports in the Panhandle have closed in anticipation of the storm\’s impacts.

\” Emergency officials in Bay County, where Michael is expected to make landfall, were already reporting rapidly deteriorating conditions.

Track the storm

Governor: \’It\’s too late to get on the road\’

Scott on Monday and Tuesday urged people to get out of the way as Michael strengthened rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico after lashing Central America and western Cuba. Officials issued mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders in at least 22 counties on the Florida Gulf Coast.

On Wednesday morning, he said on Twitter that \”the time for evacuating along the coast has come and gone.\”

\”If you chose not to evacuate … you\’re not going to be able to get out. This thing is coming now. … It\’s too late to get on the road,\” he told CNN.

Scott extended a state of emergency to 35 counties and activated 2,500 National Guardsmen; he said more than 1,000 search-and-rescue personnel will be deployed once the storm passes.

President Donald Trump approved a pre-landfall emergency declaration to provide federal money and help in Florida.

If it makes landfall as a Category 4, Michael would not only be the strongest hurricane to hit the Panhandle in recorded history, but it also would be the strongest storm in terms of wind speed to make landfall in the country this year.

Only three major hurricanes Category 3 or higher have struck the Panhandle since 1950: Eloise in 1975, Opal in 1995 and Dennis in 2005.

\’I\’m definitely getting a little bit more scared\’

Michael\’s rapid intensification — it was a tropical storm in the Gulf on Sunday and a Category 1 hurricane midday Monday — may have caught some coastal residents by surprise, despite forecasters\’ warnings of strengthening.

Newlyweds Jessica Ayers and Don Hogg told CNN they and some relatives were staying put in Panama City on Wednesday morning, having decided against leaving because they weren\’t in an evacuation zone.

Michael\’s intensification was unwelcome news.

\”I\’m definitely getting a little bit more scared, I have to say,\” Ayers said.

They have a generator, so they hope to have power, should regular service stop. They\’ve identified an interior bathroom as a place to take cover if winds get extreme.

Janelle Frost and Tracy Dunn told CNN they were staying put in nearby Panama City Beach. They said they wanted to stay to help those who couldn\’t afford to leave, such as retirees.

\”There\’s so many people that live around where we\’re at, and we wanted to make sure they\’re OK,\” Frost said. \”We made the decision to stay to try and help them.\”

Dunn said she couldn\’t bring herself \”to turn my back and know that animals, older people, young kids are left behind.\”

\”I\’m going to stick it out with them,\” she said.

Rain just one of several threats

A hurricane warning was in place from the Alabama-Florida border to the Suwannee River in Florida.

Meanwhile, tropical storm watches were in effect in some coastal areas of Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Storm surge warnings were also in place along the Florida and Alabama coasts.

While it\’s likely to weaken as it moves across the southeastern United States, its heavy rains and flooding effects will spread far and wide.

Up to 12 inches of rain could fall in Florida\’s Panhandle and Big Bend areas, as well as southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia. Some parts of the Carolinas — recently deluged by Hurricane Florence — and southern Virginia could see up to 6 inches, the hurricane center said.

Florence made landfall last month as a Category 1 storm, killing dozens in the Carolinas and Virginia.

But the storm\’s center and where it makes landfall with its destructive winds represent just one of several concerns.

Life-threatening storm surges could slam the Florida Gulf Coast, with the deadliest of possibly 9 to 14 feet expected near the eyewall and to the east — perhaps between Tyndall Air Force Base and the Aucilla River.

\”That means the water will come miles in shore and could easily be over the roofs of houses,\” Scott said.

Damaging winds are expected in Florida, southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia. Tornadoes could spawn in the Southeast Wednesday into Thursday, forecasters said.

Georgia and Alabama declare emergencies

Tolls were being suspended in the state\’s northwest region to ease the evacuation process, and the Florida Highway Patrol is sending nearly 350 state troopers to the Panhandle and Big Bend areas, Scott said.

The mayor of Apalachicola, Florida, told CNN the sewer system for the entire town was shut down at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday in preparation for the hurricane. The water is still turned on.

\”We had a mandatory evacuation order. We are expecting a 12-foot storm surge and we were worried it would inundate the sewer system and when we went to turn it back on, it would have problems,\” Mayor Van Johnson said.

Six airports in the Florida Panhandle have closed in anticipation of the storm\’s impacts. Tallahassee International Airport, Pensacola International Airport, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Destin Executive Airport, Bob Sikes Airport and Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport each issued statements saying they were closed Wednesday morning.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared an emergency for 92 counties.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statewide state of emergency, saying on Twitter it was \”in anticipation of wide-spread power outages, wind damage and debris produced by high winds & heavy rain associated with Hurricane Michael.\”

Her declaration activates the state\’s emergency operations plan.

Get the latest delivered to your inbox: Sign up for Hurricane Michael email alerts here.