Abu Dhabi - Sky News Arabic
The search for missing people in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael turned early on Sunday into searches for bodies as hopes of finding survivors in the worst-hit areas of Florida faded, US officials said.
"We have turned to exhumations, unfortunately," said Alex Bird, chief of the fire department in Panama City. The city is among the coastal communities in Florida hit by Michael, who arrived on land on Wednesday with the force of a Category 4 hurricane with winds of more than 225 km / h, causing a deadly rise to the sea waves.
"We will resume research as the sun rises," Bird said. "We hope to find more survivors. But it is becoming more and more uncertain."
President Donald Trump is expected to visit Florida and Georgia this week to inspect the damage, and the White House said late on Saturday that the president is fully committed to helping states and local agencies during the recovery process.
Michael's death toll was at least 18 until Saturday evening, a figure expected to rise in the southeastern United States as home-to-home rescuers move in coastal areas of Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina.
Search and rescue teams were able to find hundreds of people who were reported missing last week.
Rescuers said the search teams heard on Saturday the survivors of a stormy mobile home in Panama City and rescued a woman and her daughter with diabetes who were without insulin for two days and were about to be shocked.
One of the volunteers working in the Panama City area said food and water shortages were among the most urgent for those affected.
With power cuts and telephone services, rescuers used trained dogs to search for bodies, marching aircraft and heavy equipment to reach people buried in the rubble.
Florida Governor Rick Scott's office said more than 1,700 search and rescue personnel had been deployed, noting that the number included seven rapid rescue teams and about 300 ambulances.
Power and telephone lines are slowly returning to work in the area but their full return to the worst-hit areas could take weeks.
