TreasureIslandFLGal wrote:A Michael repeat would not be a good thing. That area is still not fully recovered. I did a bunch of initial first responder help and a few additional recovery trips with my team of volunteers after that one. (Many of the Mexican Beach folks were transferred over to the POD we set up a little further east by the cops/rescue teams.) So many were completely wiped out. Outside of the tourist beach areas, it is an area with a more disadvantaged population. Takes so much longer to repair things and hard for many to prep for what may be coming. They also had a slew of fires prior to the storm that also taxed many and forced evacuations. Very resilient folks though, and they all came together to help each other out right after the storm passed. It was great to see teens collecting supplies to bring to elderly neighbors who were unable to walk/bike/drive to our POD. Many roads were impassable for weeks.
Yeah, it's true. I live in the general area Michael hit. There was lots of damage and destruction even as far inland as Marianna, which had a ton of wind damage despite being further inland. Even places such as Donalsonville in Georgia had a lot of damage from what I've heard. Perhaps the one good thing to come out of it is that there was a sense of unity that I hadn't really seen before then. Lots of people went out to help each other by giving their aid and looking out for others when possible.
A lot of areas in the Panhandle outside of the big cities such as Panama City, Pensacola and Tallahassee mainly consist of poorer and/or rural communities that generally have a harder time recovering from destructive storms like Michael. There are many, many mobile and manufactured homes in the area. Even now 6 years later you can still see a lot of Michael damage. A storm of a similar caliber hitting the same place not even a decade later would not be good at all.
Please refer to the NWS, NHC, SPC or a professional meteorologist for information and decision making during storms.