Over 200,000 customers without power after Hurricane Michael

(Reuters) - More than 200,000 homes and businesses in the U.S. Southeast were still without power on Tuesday after Hurricane Michael swept up the East Coast from Florida to Virginia last week, according to local power companies. In total, over 3.2 million customers lost power from Florida to New York after Michael struck the Florida Panhandle 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 power is restored, utilities said. The Florida Division of Emergency Management said on its Twitter site that more than 140,000 homes and businesses in the state were still without power, including more than 80 percent of customers in Calhoun, Gulf and Jackson counties on the Panhandle. Southern Co's Gulf Power unit estimated it would restore power in the hardest-hit areas, like Panama City, by Oct. 24, according to the company website. (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru and Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Paul Simao and Jeffrey Benkoe)