WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Michael made landfall in U.S. state Florida earlier on Wednesday, claiming at least one life and causing massive damage with gusty winds and torrential rains.
The victim, a man in his mid-40s living in Greensboro, Florida, was killed Wednesday when a tree crashed through his home, local media reported, quoting the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office.
The storm has weakened to Category 1 and is now moving inland through southern Georgia on Wednesday night.
By Wednesday afternoon, nearly 200,000 customers had suffered power outage in Florida. In some areas, power cut may last more than one week, the authorities said.
Storms surged to dangerous levels, neighborhoods were submerged and some buildings crumbled under the gusts, images and videos online showed.
Damage in Panama City was extensive, with broken and uprooted trees and power lines down nearly everywhere, said local media reports.
Around 6,700 people have flocked to 54 shelters to weather the worst of Hurricane Michael, according to Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Michael grew from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in about 40 hours, hitting Florida's Panhandle as the most powerful storm on record.
