Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida at 1:00 pm (0400 AEDT) on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said, describing it as a "potentially catastrophic" Category 4 storm packing 250 kilometer per hour winds.
"Hurricane Michael has made landfall just northwest of Mexico Beach, Florida," the hurricane center said in its latest update.
Powerful winds, devastating storm surge and heavy rain are predicted in the Florida Panhandle, the finger-shaped strip of land along the Gulf of Mexico.
