On Wednesday 10th October, 2018 the 3rd largest Hurricane to make landfall in the United States hit the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches, Panama City Beach, Florida.
Many homes and businesses suffered significant damage. Florida Governor Rick Scott issued a mandatory evacuation notice on Tuesday 9th, and residents began to evacuate the area in anticipation of what was then, a category 3 Hurricane.
Michael grew to become a Category 4 hurricane, and at it’s peak, was just 2mph shy of reaching the maximum sustained wind speeds of 177mph, which would have made it a Category 5 hurricane; the largest possible.
After leaving Florida, Michael eventually weakened to a tropical storm but only after passing through parts of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia too. Leaving a trail of damage in its wake.
As of mid-afternoon Thursday, more than 687,000 homes and businesses in the Southeast had no electricity. Bay County is also under a mandatory boil water notice, cell phone service is limited, and many roads are blocked. Hwys 77, 79 and 231 are restricted to Relief Crew members only.
Much of the Panhandle is also under a dawn to dusk curfew, which further hampers residents and business owners from moving around and assessing the damage.
Local businesses are assessing the damage and beginning the cleanup process where possible.
We are currently closed here at Harpoon Harry’s, but will provide updates as to the status of when we expect to be open again. We did not suffer much in terms of structural damage, and for that, we are thankful.
We understand that people are interested to see how their favorite Hotels, Restaurants and Attractions have weathered the storm.
For some, it’s just a case of seeing the landmarks they have seen year after year from family vacations to the area. For others, there’s a more practical desire to know what state things are in due to an upcoming arrival.
We will continue to update you as news progresses and developments occur, but we are enormously grateful to all those first responders and volunteers who are helping to make our area safe once again.
To those who suffered damage during the Hurricane, we send our thoughts and prayers out to you.