NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Category 4 storm Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle on the morning of Wednesday, October 10 as the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in nearly 50 years. Winds of up to 155 mph were recorded as the life-threatening winds blew ashore near the sparsely populated tourist town of Mexico Beach.

In response to the storm’s expected destruction, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has once again activated the Music City Cares Fund to connect Music City’s generosity to the Gulf Coast.

Grants from the Disaster Relief Fund will be made to area nonprofits providing assistance both immediate and long term, and 100% of donations made will go directly toward recovery efforts.

“At The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, we believe that if we can help, we should help,” said Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation.  “And so for the past 27 years, we have provided ways to make giving to disaster response easy for both the donor and the recipients.

“In the wake of Hurricane Michael, we are doing just that. We are making sure that people can give comfortably, conveniently, and with confidence that 100% of the money gets to the nonprofits in the affected areas. In disaster response, every minute and every gift counts. It’s time for all of us to give what we can so that help arrives efficiently and effectively.”

The Southeast has been hit time and again in recent years by catastrophic tropical storms. The fast-arriving Michael promises to be one of the most destructive.

Evacuations spanned 22 counties from the Panhandle into north-central Florida.

The storm appeared to be so powerful that it is expected to remain a hurricane as it moves over Georgia early Thursday. Forecasters said it will unleash damaging wind and rain all the way into the Carolinas, which are still recovering from Hurricane Florence’s epic flooding.

Based on its internal barometric pressure, Michael was the most powerful hurricane to blow ashore on the U.S. mainland since Camille in 1969. Based on wind speed, it was the fourth-strongest, behind Andrew in 1992, Camille, and the biggest one of all, an unnamed 1935 Labor Day storm that had winds of 184 mph (296 kph).

To contribute to the Music City Cares: Hurricane Michael Relief Fund, head here. For more information on The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, call (615) 321-4939 or visit The Community Foundation website.