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.