Millions of people are in the path of Hurricane Michael as the unprecedented storm hits the Gulf Coast today with life-threatening winds, heavy rainfall and deadly storm surge.

• Hurricane Michael has now made landfall.
• Officials are calling Hurricane Michael the worst storm that’s threatened the Florida Panhandle in a century. Michael is bringing150 mph winds, up to a foot of rain and a storm surge as high as13 feet to some areas of Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Tornadoes are also predicted.
• Officials are predicting prolonged power outages.
• The storm’s winds will feel similar to an EF-1 and EF-2 tornado.
• More than 375,000 people are under evacuation orders and many schools and colleges are closed along with airports and ports.
• The storm is also forecast to drop heavy rain later this week in the Carolinas where people are still struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.

The American Red Cross is on the ground along the Gulf Coast to provide safe shelter and support for evacuees as Hurricane Michael comes ashore. Tuesday night, approximately 4,000 people stayed in nearly 70 American Red Cross and community evacuation centers across Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

• There are more than 500 trained disaster workers on their way to the region to join the Red Cross volunteers already in place in the three states. Twelve volunteers have been deployed from the Colorado & Wyoming Region, 2 are from Wyoming.
• The Red Cross has pre-positioned enough shelter supplies, including cots and blankets, to be able to support some 15,000 people after landfall and is also mobilizing additional relief supplies, vehicles and other equipment to help people in the affected areas if needed.
• We’re also working with partners to prepare for serving tens of thousands of meals per day once the storm passes.
• Since October 9, more than 3.6 million weather alerts have been issued through Red Cross apps allowing people to make informed and lifesaving decisions.