Search teams comb debris for victims of deadly Hurricane Michael

Search and rescue teams on Friday faced a second day of sifting through the ruined landscape left by furious Hurricane Michael as it devastated coastal communities in the Florida Panhandle.

With the death toll at six, Michael, now a tropical storm, sped east over Virginia and was close to reaching the Atlantic.

It left a stunning swathe of destruction behind.

In Mexico Beach, a seafront town where the hurricane made landfall, houses had been razed by a storm surge, boats had been tossed into yards and the streets were littered with trees and power lines.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said the storm had caused "unbelievable devastation" and the priority for the moment was looking for survivors among residents who failed to heed orders to evacuate.

"I'm very concerned about our citizens that didn't evacuate and I just hope that, you know, we don't have much loss of life," Scott told ABC.

The US Army said more than 2,000 Florida National Guard soldiers were working on the recovery operations.

There have been six confirmed storm-related deaths so far -- four in Florida's Gadsden County, one in Georgia, and one in North Carolina.

President Donald Trump pledged to help storm victims.

"Our hearts are with the thousands who have sustained property damage, in many cases entirely wiped out," Trump said. "We will not rest or waver until the job is done and the recovery is complete."
"We brought all four of them and their cat to my condo," she said. "Yes, it is all about helping others."