Michael \'like a tornado\': Trump in Florida

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) U.S. President Donald Trump surveyed the damage from Hurricane Michael and met with survivors on Monday, saying food and housing were the top priorities for those hit in Florida's storm-ravaged Panhandle.

"To see this personally is very tough - total devastation," Trump said in Lynn Haven, a city of about 18,500 people near Panama City in northwestern Florida that was his first stop.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump passed out bottles of water at an aid center after taking a helicopter ride into the hardest hit area from Eglin Air Force Base about 100 miles (160 km) to the west.

At least 18 deaths in four states have been blamed on Michael, which crashed into the Panhandle last Wednesday as one of the most powerful storms on record to hit the continental United States.

"You know many of these people, they have no homes," Trump said upon arrival at Eglin from Washington.

"Some of them have no trace of a home ... so our big thing is feeding, water and safety." He said the day's biggest objective was "just making sure everyone is safe, that they're fed."