More than 155,000 U.S. customers without power after Hurricane Michael

(Reuters) - More than 155,000 homes and businesses in the U.S. Southeast were still without power early Wednesday, local power companies said, in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. In total, more than 3.3 million customers lost power from Florida to New York after Michael struck the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10 as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour (250 kph). Some customers in the hardest-hit parts of Florida may have to wait another week or two until their service is restored, utilities said. The Florida Division of Emergency Management said that more than 122,000 homes and businesses in the state still had no power, including 98 percent in Calhoun County, 83 percent in Jackson County, 72 percent in Gulf County and 71 percent in Liberty County. Those mostly rural counties are located in the Florida Panhandle where Michael crashed ashore. Southern Co's Gulf Power unit estimated it would restore power in the hardest-hit areas, including Panama City, by Oct. 24. (Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru and Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)