Hurricane Michael is blasting trees, closing down Waffle Houses, and flooding the Florida panhandle. The storm is now a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour, according to Al Jazeera.
Michael is one of the most intense hurricanes to hit U.S. mainland since 1954, according to USA Today. On Wednesday afternoon, the storm landed northwest of Mexico Beach, Florida.
Here is the 7 PM EDT position update for #Michael – Eye of #Michael moving through southwestern Georgia https://t.co/huazqXcQgJ pic.twitter.com/iJzibRVzQF
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 10, 2018
Florida residents and media posted images and video of some of the devastating effects of the hurricane so far.
Damage now from the back side of our condo building in Mexico Beach. #Michael pic.twitter.com/BVAJfPFwkZ
— Ginger Zee (@Ginger_Zee) October 10, 2018
Complete destruction to the northeastern side of this bank in Panama City, FL. #HurricaneMichael pic.twitter.com/d1eG2ymZVZ
— Jeff Gammons (@StormVisuals) October 10, 2018
A look at what houses in #Mexico Beach, #Florida look like right now. This is a follow up from the previous clip posted. They are now submerged and were no match for #HurricaneMichael (via Tessa Talarico) #Hurricane #Michael #HurricaneMichael2018 pic.twitter.com/GJENrhFJha
— Josh Benson (@WFLAJosh) October 10, 2018
This is a pretty common sight around here #HurricaneMichael pic.twitter.com/kTM8nx02HW
— Kirsten Fiscus (@KDFiscus) October 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/jtwallace_/status/1050081645364203520
Trees are being snatched from the roots in Panama City, FL! All of my friends and family please be safe! #HurricaneMichael pic.twitter.com/Hh0eXbBqUO
— Chels (@_heyychels) October 10, 2018
The roof of a hotel collapsed as ABC News was doing a live report in Panama City #HurricaneMichael pic.twitter.com/MSIUFxtwBe
— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) October 10, 2018
There’s a lot of damage in Panama City, FL. #HurricaneMichael pic.twitter.com/c3Ik4R3ZRs
— Jeff Gammons (@StormVisuals) October 10, 2018
WOW……Incredible video coming in of Hurricane Michael exploding a house into pieces in Panama City, Florida. (Source: Aaron Rigsby/Live Storms Media) #hurricanemichael #hurricane pic.twitter.com/kT2mKOzvjH
— CBS 4 News (@cbs4rgv) October 10, 2018
WATCH: Tree collapses outside a home in Panama City Beach, Florida. #HurricaneMichael https://t.co/Wfdv7UQmTN pic.twitter.com/7oQZIDi0eX
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/AlBoeNEWS/status/1050135000429916161
WATCH: Video shows some of the damage from #HurricaneMichael in Panama City Beach, Florida. https://t.co/MgLnSxyRiP pic.twitter.com/RTxYR0KaZW
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 10, 2018
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said on Twitter that emergency response is coming to help those impacted by the storm.
Response is coming. Our massive recovery efforts continue to grow. We are ready with law enforcement, strike & medical teams, volunteers, food, water, utility crews and more.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) October 10, 2018
We are prepared to deploy 1 million gallons of water, 1.5 million Meals Ready-to-Eat and 400,000 pounds of ice to help our families being impacted by the storm. pic.twitter.com/8OvbBUh66z
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) October 10, 2018
Perhaps to cope with the horrible aftermaths of the storm, people on Twitter started making Hurricane Michael memes, many of which replace the eye of the storm with celebrities.
https://twitter.com/ectoplasmshow/status/1050151886224019458
Hurricane Michael: All the Memes You Need to See https://t.co/jM1GR8LNvq pic.twitter.com/OyKgVsdiY1
— Tim McGill (@TMcGillWeather) October 10, 2018
A few of my latest creations #HurricaneMichael #memes #hurricanemichaelmemes pic.twitter.com/jMSQqIaOQJ
— Bobby Win (@TheBobbyWinicki) October 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/FrancesEChan/status/1049821686936293376
https://twitter.com/TheFatVegan3/status/1049664410866909184
https://twitter.com/KatellaStegmann/status/1049892875067170816
And then there’s the highway-cruising shark.
Derek Schwartz from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, tweeted “Believe it or not this shark has made its way on to the freeway near Mexico Beach by Panama City. Be safe out there! #HurricaneMichael.”
Believe it or not this shark has made its way on to the freeway near Mexico Beach by Panama City. Be safe out there! #HurricaneMichael pic.twitter.com/EW5YEqjgeq
— Derek (@derek_mafs) October 10, 2018
The photo, obviously fake, is something of a fake news staple during floods and hurricanes.
Now that we have flooding from #FlorenceHurricane2018 we should see the fake shark in the water posts in 3, 2. 1… pic.twitter.com/FLNhZykvL8
— Jerry Bembry (@Jerrybembry) September 14, 2018
Just a few of many fake photos you're going to see on social media the next few days… #Irma #Flooding #Sharks pic.twitter.com/Qstf4itP8Y
— Brian Lada (@wxlada) September 8, 2017
#Teachers: Remind students that every time there is flooding, fake pics of sharks in floodwater go viral. Challenge them to correct. pic.twitter.com/aj8mRii9FQ
— Peter Adams (@PeterD_Adams) August 28, 2017
At this point, the shark is one of the only predictable things amid scarily unpredictable weather.
I think the hurricane shark should get a pass. It's a nice tradition.
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) October 10, 2018