Hurricane Michael leaves path of destruction in Florida Panhandle

Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10, destroying many businesses and homes and obliterating the shore. Many residents in the Panama City area didn't evacuate because the storm was a Category 2 less than two days before it accelerated in strength and speed. By the time Hurricane Michael slammed into Mexico Beach, Florida, it was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 155 mph.

In terms of barometric pressure, it was the third most powerful hurricane to hit the United States mainland. That puts it ahead of Hurricane Katrina, though as this LiveScience file explains, meteorologists have to take all sorts of measurements into account, including storm surge, which played an outsized role during and after Hurricane Harvey, for example.

As of Oct. 11, at least two people have died and more than 900,000 businesses and homes are without power in Florida, Alabama and Georgia — far fewer initial deaths than other hurricanes have caused. Hurricane Michael caused major flooding in western North Carolina, just weeks after Hurricane Florence hit the state.

It will take days and possibly even weeks to determine how much destruction Hurricane Michael has caused, but the evidence is already apparent in this video and images below.