First Hand Reports from War Zone Michael

Good news is we are fine. I live in PCB about a mile from the gulf on the west end of the beach. I had a lot of fencing taken out but no structure damage. Some of my neighbors will need new roofs.

Drove into Panama City this morning. It is totally trashed. The further east you go towards Tyndall and Mexico Beach, the worst it gets. Every local report I have seen says it is just gone. Nothing left. No electricity, no cable and cell service is spotty at best. Zero service if you have Verizon.

My neighbor runs the Ford dealership in PC. They lost over 90 cars in the used car side alone. The Toyota dealership was near completion of their new showroom. The center of that building collapsed and no telling how many new cars were inside. Lots of roads are completely blocked.

They are evacuating both hospitals right now. Not sure where they are going but I saw well over 100 ambulances from all over the Southeast here.

The beach itself is trashed on the east end. Lots and lots of trees down. One boat storage place is missing most of the corner of one building and it collapsed on itself.

There are no gas stations that are open and most are damaged beyond a quick repair.

It's going to take a long, long time for this recovery to get rolling. If you want to enter Bay County you must have proof of residence. No alcohol being sold according to local news stations.

 

My heart goes out to all of you. Good luck to getting all your services back up. My condolences to anybody that’s lost their lives and the families that had to go through it,

 

Wow..just sad..I'm glad you guys are well, I just watched a drone video and my jaw just dropped! I cant imagine what you guys went through and all I can say is stay strong and positive...

 

Thanks for the insight, I really enjoyed PCB when I lived in FL. I worked in the Katrina cleanup right after it hit, it is sad how many folks lose so much during these events. I hope the best for you and yours.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with you brotha.

 

Thank for the update. I'm glad for your family's blessings. And sad for so many others whose lives have been much altered.

If any on here need help we can send, give a shout!

 

They are showing drone vid of Mexico Beach.....................gone

 

Glad you are safe with minimal damage. Talked to my brother in law in Maryland today. His parents live in Panama City and sustained some major damage but they are fine. My brother in law is heading down there on Saturday to help his parents.

 

Thoughts and speedy recovery. Thanks for the update.

 

Watching some of the pictures and videos coming out of there. Holy shit. My heart goes out to everyone affected. I won't bitch about -30C and snow again....

 

Glad to hear your okay.

 

More thoughts and prayers...

 

Good luck. You've got it way worse than we just had here in NC. I've seen some drone footage that looks like a 500lb bomb impacted multiple areas.

Take it day by day. It's going to be a long time. Florence was small compared to Michael, but it has been 1 month here and the area is still a mess.

 

Oh man that is horrible.
@DJFaninTN I am moving to Jacksonville form Denver in 14 days. I was planning on taking I10, I'm assuming that is a bad idea now, right? Should I come down from the north down I75 instead?

 

I’m not in Florida, but I’ve seen my share of hurricane. I’d guess that I-10 will be fine in two weeks.

 

right now from what I have heard I10 is closed down around Mariana, FL. They took a huge blow there from the eye wall. Might check with Florida HP for the latest.

 

ran into one of the head guys from FEMA tonight. said he worked Andrew and Katrina and according to him this is much worse. He said words just can't describe how bad it really is. I could tell he was pretty shaken when speaking of it.

so far eight reported dead here in Fl but that # is going to grow as the recovery continues

 

Thanks for the update! Praying for everyone involved!

 

I 10 is officially open now according to news reports