The death toll from Hurricane Michael rose to 17 people across four states on Friday as rescuers, hampered by power and phone outages, used cadaver dogs, drones and heavy equipment to search devastated communities in the Florida Panhandle.
Searchers found one person dead in the rubble of Mexico Beach, said Joseph Zahralban, Miami's fire chief and the task force leader of a search and rescue unit. Three additional deaths were reported in Marianna, in Jackson County, Florida, Sheriff Lou Roberts told a news conference on Friday afternoon.
"I've watched on television, thinking of what others have experienced, like in the Carolinas and Texas," Mexico Beach Mayor Al Cathey told reporters. "But it's different when you walk down and see this, and your emotions run away. This is just a small unique coastal community."