Hurricane Michael leaves massive destruction in USA

One of the most powerful storms in US history has battered north-west Florida, flooding beach towns and snapping trees.

Hurricane Michael hit on Wednesday afternoon as a category four storm with 155mph winds, and caused storm surges of up to 10 feet along the coast.

The storm left nearly 500,000 people without electricity in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, according to emergency services.

At least six people have been killed as it passed through three states; Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

Hurricane Michael earlier reportedly killed at least 13 people in the Central American countries of Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Hurricane Michael is the third-strongest storm in recorded history to hit the mainland US - after an unnamed hurricane in 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969.

Michael was so powerful as it swept into Florida that it remained a hurricane as it moved further inland.

Unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico turbo-charged the storm from a tropical depression on Sunday to a category four storm on Wednesday.

More than 370,000 people in Florida were ordered to evacuate, but officials believe many ignored the warning.

The hurricane made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, at around 6pm (UK time) on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"We are catching some hell," Timothy Thomas, who rode out the storm with his wife in their home in Panama City Beach, Florida, told the Associated Press news agency.

The storm knocked out power to a quarter of a million homes and businesses, as power lines were smashed by falling trees.

States of emergency have been declared in the states of Florida, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.

The National Weather Service had issued a dramatic appeal for the people of the Florida state capital, Tallahassee, to heed warnings and leave their homes.

Schools and state offices in the area shut this week.

Hurricane Michael has now been downgraded to a tropical storm but people across the US are still being warned about ongoing danger from power lines which have come down, flash floods and landslides.

The storm is moving through North and South Carolina which are still recovering after last month's Hurricane Florence.

Search and rescue teams are continuing to help people in areas affected.