Florida search crews look for dead and living in aftermath of Hurricane Michael

The death toll stood at 13 across the South.

The number of dead was expected to rise, but authorities scrapped plans to set up a temporary morgue, indicating they had yet to see signs of mass casualties from the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental US in nearly 50 years.

Residents, meanwhile, began to come to grips with the destruction and face up to the uncertainty that lies ahead.

“I didn’t recognise nothing. Everything’s gone. I didn’t even know our road was our road,” said Tiffany Marie Plushnik, 25, an evacuee who returned to find her home in Sandy Creek too damaged to live in.

When she went back to the hotel where she took shelter from the storm, she found out she could no longer stay there either because of mould.

“We’ve got to figure something out. We’re starting from scratch, all of us,” Plushnik said.

Across the ravaged region, officials set up distribution centres to hand out food and water to victims.

Some supplies were brought in by trucks, while others had to be delivered by helicopter because roads had yet to be cleared of debris.

President Donald Trump announced plans to visit Florida and hard-hit Georgia early next week but did not say what day he would arrive.

“We are with you!” he tweeted.

Search teams continued to pick their way through the ruins of Mexico Beach, the ground-zero town of about 1,000 people that was nearly wiped off the map when Michael blew ashore there on Wednesday with devastating 155 mph winds.

Blocks and blocks of homes were demolished.

State officials said that by one count, 285 people in Mexico Beach defied mandatory evacuation orders and stayed behind.

Whether any of them got out at some point was unclear.

Emergency officials said they have received thousands of calls asking about missing people.

But with mobile phone service out across vast swathes of the Florida Panhandle, officials said it was possible that some of those unaccounted for are safe and just have not been able to contact friends or family to let them know.

Governor Rick Scott said state officials still “do not know enough” about the fate of those who stayed behind in the region.

“We are not completely done. We are still getting down there,” the governor added.

Emergency officials said they had done an initial “hasty search” of 80% of the stricken area, looking for the living or the dead.

Shell-shocked survivors who barely escaped with their lives told of terrifying winds, surging floodwaters and homes cracking like eggs.

Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long said he expected to see the death toll rise.

“We still haven’t gotten into the hardest-hit areas,” he said, adding with frustration: “Very few people live to tell what it’s like to experience storm surge, and unfortunately in this country we seem to not learn the lesson.”

Long expressed worry that people have suffered “hurricane amnesia”.

“When state and local officials tell you to get out, dang it, do it. Get out,” he said.

On the Panhandle, Tyndall Air Force Base “took a beating,” so much so that Colonel Brian Laidlaw told the 3,600 men and women stationed on the base not to come back.

Many of the 600 families who live there had followed orders to pack what they could in a single suitcase as they were evacuated ahead of the storm.

The hurricane’s eyewall passed directly overhead, severely damaging nearly every building and leaving many a complete loss.

The primary school, the flight line, the marina and the runways were devastated.

“I will not recall you and your families until we can guarantee your safety. At this time I can’t tell you how long that will take, but I’m on it,” Laidlaw wrote.

“We need to restore basic utilities, clear our roads of trees and power lines, and assess the structural integrity of our buildings.”