Miami, Oct 11 (IANS): At least one person was killed and thousands of homes were without power in the state of Florida due to hurricane Michael, one of the strongest storms to hit the continental US since 1992.

Michael made landfall on Wednesday around 2 p.m. near Mexico Beach, Florida, dashing homes into pieces, swallowing marinas and leaving piles of rubble where shopping centres once stood, reports CNN.

Now a Category 1 storm with winds up to 90 mph, the storm is moving across southwestern Georgia about about 17 mph near Albany.

Meanwhile, flooding continues along the Gulf Coast, where downed trees and utility polls were making precarious rescue efforts even harder.

According to the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office, the person was killed on Wednesday after a a tree fell on a house near Greensboro, Florida.

Nine Florida counties have enacted curfews and a tornado watch was in effect for much of northern part of the state and south and central Georgia until 2 a.m. Thursday.

According to the National Hurricane Centre, tropical storm warnings were in effect for parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Storm surge warnings were in place along the Florida and Alabama coasts.

Up to 12 inches of rain could fall in Florida's Panhandle and Big Bend areas, as well as southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia, CNN reported.

Some parts of the Carolinas and southern Virginia, recently deluged by Hurricane Florence, could see up to 6 inches, the Centre said.