Since much of the reporting on the hurricane was focused on Mexico Beach, we wanted to see just how badly they were hit. Below are some original images we captured 2 years ago and those taken recently. It was encouraging to see a positive improvement in the conditions we saw 2 years ago. Yes, homes on the Gulf side were furthest along to being restored or replaced - all on piles. Most roofs were now metal and many homes had concrete piles - elevating living space 11-15 ft. On the community side, maybe 30-40% of the homes are under repair/replacement ... but the entire community is still years away from 'normalcy'. We did capture a photo of the one home that the news media had reported as the lone survivor due to planned over-building and reinforcement.
Hurricane Michael hits the Gulf and travels N-NE on October 10th, 2018. Fast forward to today, Ginger and I drove through the Panhandle through Mexico Beach this week to see first-hand the wrath of Hurricane Michael. The Category 4 Hurricane hit the Florida Panhandle region, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 155 mph and a minimum pressure 919 mb. The storm caused catastrophic damage from wind and storm surge, particularly in the Panama City Beach to Mexico Beach to Cape San Blas areas.
Update late 2022 ... good progress being made and the community is coming back .