美国有线新闻 CNN 26年来最强飓风迈克尔登陆美国 佛罗里达州一片惨象（在线收听）

In recorded history, the Southeastern U.S. state of Florida has taken more direct hits from hurricanes than any other state. Wednesday afternoon it recorded another from Hurricane Michael. The storm blew ashore at about 1:30 p.m. making landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida. At that time, Michael was officially a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 155 miles per hour.

Anything over 156 miles per hour is a Category 5 storm, the most powerful classification of hurricane i?n terms of wind speed. Michael's the strongest hurricane ever to strike this part of Florida, the panhandle. The area that extends over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. And it's the strongest storm to hit the continental U.S. since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992.

Some of the first pictures from Apalachicola and Mexico Beach showed scenes of total destruction. A councilwoman from Mexico Beach said the storm was like a nightmare. At first, forecasters estimated Hurricane Michael would make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane. Then it strengthened to a Category 3. By the time it came ashore, it was a Category 4 strength. Why does that matter? These categories on the Saffir-Simpson Scale denote the wind speeds that hurricanes carry.

The higher the category, the higher the wind speed, the more destructive a hurricane could be. Category 4 and 5 storms bring winds of more than 130 miles per hour. They're capable of ripping off roofs, knocking down walls, uprooting trees and making an area uninhabitable for months. One thing that distinguished Hurricane Michael was how quickly it formed and how rapidly it intensified.