The Hurricane Michael struck on Wednesday with winds of 155mph (250km/h).
More than 370,000 people in Florida were told to evacuate but officials believe many ignored the warning.
Six people died, most of them were in Florida. It lifted homes from their bottoms and heavily damaged others in districts closest to the sea in Mexico Beach, CNN helicopter footage showed. Twenty survivors were found in the town overnight, AP reports, but 285 had refused to obey warnings to evacuate. Debris and floodwater are also making some of the worst-hit areas difficult to reach. Governor Scott urged residents not to return until the authorities make sure things are safe, given the danger from power lines and other debris.
Travis Brooks, director of Seminole County’s emergency management agency, told ABC News there was “complete and total devastation”. Hurricane Michael earlier reportedly killed at least 13 people as it passed through Central America: six in Honduras, four in Nicaragua and three in El Salvador. With reduced winds of 50mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Michael has moved north-east crossing Georgia and is now bringing heavy rain to North Carolina and Virginia. The NHC warned that communities in north-west Florida and North Carolina faced the threat of life-threatening flooding as rising water moved inwards from the coast.