PANAMA CITY, FL - The search continues for victims of Hurricane Michael, especially on Mexico Beach, the Florida town nearly obliterated by the storm that brought destruction and death across large swaths of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.

Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott saw for themselves the damage in Mexico Beach and Panama City on Sunday. Long said because the devastation is so widespread work is focused on finding survivors and sustaining life.

“FEMA is rapidly trying to meet the demands the governor puts forward when it comes to sustaining life, but in some cases, because of the (severity of the) hit, we’re still focusing on search and rescue in some of the areas like Mexico Beach to make sure we leave no stones unturned and we’re getting to anybody that may be trapped,” Long said, according to the Pensacola News Journal.

“The system is working, but it takes time when you see devastation like this, and we have to set the citizens’ expectations,” Long said. “What’s coming next is citizens are going to get frustrated.”

Meanwhile, the White House announced that President Donald Trump plans to visit Florida and Georgia on Monday to survey damage caused by Michael. He will be accompanied by first lady Melania Trump.

At least 18 deaths have been blamed on the powerful storm – eight in Florida, three in North Carolina, one in Georgia and six in Virginia.

The widespread destruction left by the storm, which remained a hurricane well into Georgia, means recovery will take months and perhaps years in some cases.

Meantime, a potential tropical storm has formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, the spawning grounds of Hurricane Michael. The National Hurricane Center says the system is expected to move across the Yucatan Channel near the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, and then move into the southern Gulf of Mexico on Monday.

Story Date: October 15, 2018