The first hurricane to cross the Florida coastline in more than a decade swept ashore in one of the state’s more sparsely settled areas, according to catastrophe modeller AIR Worldwide.

Category 1 Hurricane Hermine made landfall near St Marks, south of Tallahassee on Friday, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 130kmh.

Much of the damage stemmed from flooding because of a storm surge and heavy precipitation, while falling trees have blocked roads and caused power outages, AIR Worldwide says.

“Wind damage to non-engineered structures is likely to be limited to isolated instances of roof and wall cladding damage, and there may be isolated instances of minor damage to engineered structures.”

Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting land, and has since travelled north, nearing the US coastline again after heading out to sea.

Catastrophe risk management group RMS says domestic properties in northern Florida are generally wooden-framed and more vulnerable to hurricane damage compared with southern areas.

Heavily wooded areas in the region increase the risk from tree falls.

The US National Weather Service says Hermine should remain at or near hurricane strength until weakening by Monday night, Atlantic Standard Time.