Trump visits Florida to see hurricane damage

President Donald Trump is touring storm-ravaged areas of Florida and Georgia today as both states come to grips with the devastation from Hurricane Michael. “Just arrived in Florida,” Trump tweeted midmorning. “Also thinking about our GREAT Alabama farmers and our many friends in North and South Carolina today. We are with you!”

FEMA administrator Brock Long said the top objectives for storm recovery are “getting thousands of people out of shelters into more suitable living conditions. But ultimately there’s going to be a tough long-term housing mission that lies ahead.” The official death toll from the storm now stands at 17, but authorities say they still don’t know how many people failed to evacuate along the coast of the Florida Panhandle. Many homes and businesses were reduced to piles of timber or swept out to sea. As of Sunday, more than 190,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without power, along with about 120,000 in Georgia and more in the Carolinas and Virginia, where Michael passed over at tropical storm strength.

Michael slammed the Panhandle last week as a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mile-per-hour winds and a 9-foot storm surge. Michael was still at hurricane strength as it crossed into southern Georgia, destroying farms and wiping out crops.