Hurricane Michael: 'It's GONE' Shock footage shows town LEVELLED by brute force of storm

Hurricane Michael is the third strongest storm in recorded history to hit the US mainland.

CNN reporter Brooke Baldwin’s awe at the trail of destruction left behind by Hurricane Michael is clear as she flies over the beachside town of Mexico Beach in a helicopter.

Clearly shaken by the utter devastation below her, she tells the camera: “We have just now flown over Mexico Beach and – it’s gone. It’s gone.

“It’s… it’s obliterated. It’s awful. It’s awful to look at.

Ms Baldwin adds: “As we watch the deterioration along the coastline, it was bad in Panama City beach, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The small beachside town of 1,200 people seems to have been almost completely flattened by the huge force of the storm which battered the town with winds of over 155mph and powerful storm surges.

The hurricane arrived near Mexico Beach in Florida at 6pm BST on Wednesday (2pm EDT), before moving through to Georgia.

The eye of the Category 4 storm made landfall along the popular strip of coast, shaking concrete buildings and ripping roofs from buildings. Storm surges appeared to swamp entire buildings in some part of the town.

It is the third strongest hurricane in history to hit the US. Two people have been killed in Florida by falling trees, officials said.

Communities in Florida and Georgia have been left to deal with “unprecedented impacts” caused by the storm, which was downgraded on Thursday morning.

Hurricane Michael will continue to produce heavy rainfall and the risk of flash flooding in the areas of Georgia, the Carolinas and southeastern Virginia.

As of 10am BST (5am EDT) on Thursday morning, the NHC discontinued its storm surge warning for the Florida coast south of Altamaha Sound – but warned a tropical storm warning and storm surge warning was still in place in Georgia and The Carolinas.

The NHC’s latest advisory read: “On the forecast track, the centre of Michael will move through eastern Georgia into central South Carolina this morning, then moves across portions of central and eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia into the Atlantic Ocean by late tonight or early Friday.

“Tropical storm conditions are occurring over portions of eastern and southeastern Georgia and will spread across portions of central and southern South Carolina this morning.

“Michael is expected to produce total rain accumulations of four to seven inches from eastern Georgia to the southern Mid-Atlantic states and one to three inches over the northern Mid-Atlantic states and coastal southern New England.”

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