We have been down in Millville, Parker, and the Cove since Thursday morning. There are no words for those places. It's 2 hours to get out of the county from these areas if you leave around 630pm.
The poor communities are destroyed yet people are living there. They have no place to go and are clinging to dwellings that look like trash piles.
Splittine you said you were there for the past 20 hours....What can you tell me about navigating the city? Our company will be coming in for relief efforts with hospice patients on oxygen.
PCB has very little damage. PC has down power lines and trees on just about every road. Zero power in the city at all. Treat everything as a 4 way stop. Main roads are driveable but still covered in power lines. Majority of side roads are covered in trees. The further east you go the more intense it gets.
After Ivan, and in all my travels to inspect, I would get 4 to 5 flats a week.
I would air up every morning, and then carry an air pump to keep my tires inflated.
Then on the weekend go to Sears and have them all repaired.
Sometimes I would have to have a new tire, as the puncture was too close to the outside.
Getting back to cell service now. It’s a mad house over there. If you don’t have business there please stay out. All the sightseers are creating hell for all the first responders. Getting around town today was a nightmare.
Trying to drag me feet on getting over there, and start working, as I have verizon, so I know I will not be able to be reached, I heard only AT&T works.
And I want others to collect all the flat tires from nails.
Then I start working over there for the next year, at least.
Thanks for the info Splittine and Banana Tom. Which road were you able to take out?
I got info from calling FL Patrol on how we could get past the checkpoint. One of our guys went in last night to bring oxygen and heard gun shots firing in PC. Crazy stuff down there.
All roads are open. Checkpoints at 231, 77 and 79. If you have legit business there they will let you in no problem. I have FEMA paperwork and they’ve never asked to see it.
I'm planning a trip to the area for the GC that I work for on 10/22.
Trucks with Company Signs including GC license#'s, Phone#'s, etc...
Hoping the Gun Play relaxes, but these people are stressed beyond
their limits.
Everyone please be as respectful as to their circumstances and stress levels.
I'm a PC native. It is heartbreaking to be here and see the devastation that is everywhere. I am here running claims as well, and I bet 99% of the homes and businesses have significant damage.
My house has roof and some water damage, but is otherwise okay. All of my out buildings are destroyed. We are considering ourselves to be very fortunate.
My wife was working a special needs shelter and had to be there for 3 days starting the day before the storm. For two days she didn't know if we were dead or alive thanks to the Verizon outage. She was hearing about all the homes that were destroyed and was fearing the worst, even though we have a well-built home. Finally a kind-hearted deputy working the shelter insisted that he bring he here to check on us before working any longer.
Thanks to all those who have contributed to protecting or caring for our citizens.
I have had a couple of claims out in the country and I have refused to step on anyone's property unless I knew I was at the right place. It is sad that people will steal from others in this terrible time of need.
I intend to make a sign that says "Our alligators say that looters taste like chicken" and put it on our road.
Hurricane Michael designated as Catastrophe Serial Number 1857, made landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane; with maximum sustained winds of 155 MPH. This is 2 MPH shy of being classified as a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The extreme wind damage in Panama City, on the left side of the eyewall, raises the possibility that Michael generated hurricane “mini-swirls,” which are like tiny tornadoes, roughly the diameter of a couple of houses, and can create momentary wind speeds in excess of 200 mph.
If there were people in that home, I bet they were scared to death with all the thumps from those trees.
What you said about the mini-tornadoes makes sense. I have a buddy who had a fair bit of damage, but the house next to him had nothing left but the foundation. I assume they were built around the same time.
I don't know if they'll get all the debris cleared anytime in the next couple of years. Panama City was not a pretty place to begin with, it is absolutely awful with all of the debris piles.
I volunteered through VolunteerFlorida. Most of their efforts seem to be at various distribution centers. I would prefer trying to help individual people, however, I can't find any organization that I can work with. I've tried contacting several of the local churches but they have not gotten back to me. Does anyone know how I can get plugged into a faith-based group that is working over there?
I lived on the MS Gulf Coast during Katrina a know what the continuing and long term need is following a hurricane like Michael.
I know an Insurance Agent that joined the Methodist Volunteer Program. She had to take a course to be certified in doing so. Then she will allowed to go and cut trees, clean debris that kind of stuff.
She is an agent at Zarahn Insurance Agency, Inc. Here is an article about it.