PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Hurricane Michael made landfall Wednesday afternoon near Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle, ravaging the region with storm surge, heavy rains and sustained winds of 155 mph.
Forecasters mark landfall as the place and time when the center of the eye strikes land. Minutes earlier, Michael's eyewall came ashore between Panama City and St. Vincent Island, and the hurricane center warned everyone inside the relative calm of the eye not to venture outside.
The massive storm spread hurricane-force winds outward up to 45 miles from the center.
Those winds were tearing some buildings apart in Panama City Beach. One beachfront structure under construction could be seen collapsing (watch in video player above), and metal roofing material flew sideways across parking lots amid sheets of rain.
[WATCH BELOW: Sky 6 flies over post-Michael devastation along Florida's Gulf Coast]
In addition, News 6 partner WJXT-TV showed water surging in Panama City Beach (watch below).
"I've been chasing storms for 10 years, and this is the most powerful, incredible, scary storm I have experienced," reporter Vic Micolucci said from the third floor of a parking garage about 300 yards from the beach.
Video showed wind whipping rain through the garage as the eye passed through the area.
BREAKING: HURRICANE MAKES LANDFALL | WJXT4 Vic Micolucci is LIVE in Panama City Beach where Category 4 Michael barrels ashore with 155 mph winds.
Posted by WJXT4 The Local Station / News4JAX on Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Check out more videos related to Hurricane Michael below.
Tom Bailey walks his bike past a home that was carried across a road and slammed up against a condo complex as Hurricane Michael passed through the area on October 11, 2018 in Mexico Beach, Florida. The hurricane hit the panhandle area with category 4 winds causing major damage.