MIAMI — Tropical Storm Michael sped off toward the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday night, but there will be nothing quick about Florida’s recovery from the hurricane, where rows upon rows of homes have been smashed to pieces. The storm also brought flash flooding to hurricane-weary parts of the Carolinas and Virginia. Here’s a look at the storm:
Hurricane history: First Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida’s Panhandle since record-keeping began in 1851.
Top winds: 155 mph, strong enough to completely destroy homes and cause weekslong power outages.
Powerful pressure: 919 millibars minimum pressure in the eye, the third most intense hurricane landfall in the U.S. in recorded history.
High water: Estimated peak storm surge of 9 feet and 14 feet from Mexico Beach east through Apalachee Bay, according to the National Hurricane Center
Storm riders: Roughly 375,000 people in Florida warned to evacuate; many refused, including 285 people in Mexico Beach, where Michael made landfall.
Rescued: 47 helped out of hard-hit areas along Florida’s coastline, and 20 people in flooded neighborhoods in North Carolina.
Staying safe: Nearly 6,700 people took refuge in 54 shelters in Florida.
Power outages: Roughly a million customers in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina lost power.
Food and water: 2 million ready-to-eat meals, 1 million gallons of water and 40,000 10-pound bags of ice ready for distribution in Florida.
Damage estimates: Boston-based Karen Clark & Co., an insurance company that produces models for catastrophes, is estimating Hurricane Michael caused about $8 billion in insured losses. It includes the privately insured wind and storm surge damage to residential, commercial and industrial properties and automobiles. The figure does not include losses covered by the National Flood Insurance Program.