Hurricane Michael left Mexico Beach in shambles

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USA TODAY’s drone fleet shows the devastation in Mexico Beach, Florida in the wake of Hurricane Michael.

Almost a week after Hurricane Michael smashed into the Florida Panhandle with winds of 155 mph, authorities Tuesday reported that 12 people have been found dead in Bay County, the hardest-hit area that includes Panama City and Mexico Beach.

This announcement from Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford will potentially increase the storm’s national death total to 26 people. But officials have warned that getting a concrete number of fatalities is difficult because of rescue efforts, spotty cell reception and rapid pace of recovery operations.

Prior to Tuesday morning, the death toll stood at eight in Florida, three in North Carolina, one in Georgia and six in Virginia, for a total of 18 at that time.

At least two of the fatalities were in the small beach town of Mexico Beach, which was nearly destroyed as Michael roared through the region last Wednesday.

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