ADVERTISEMENT

Now Cat 4 Michael

I’ve been in PC for most of the week working my arse off.

It’s amazing how much has been accomplished over the past week. This place looked like a war zone and if anyone told me on Wednesday that power would be restored the following Friday I’d say they’re smoking big fat crack rocks...but sure enough, power is being restored in PC, not just the main business areas, but the neighborhoods as well.

Verizon has been the only one to truly drop the ball, whether justified or not, it’s not a good look for them.

Anyhow...I hope the town can bounce back. Insurance adjusters seem to be lowballing on their adjustments leaving folks with half the money needed to rebuild. If that’s the case I’m worried people walk leaving their houses a mess. The blown down trees are bad enough, abandoned houses would be the nail in the coffin.

Time will tell what happens in the long run, but regardless of what does happen, the amount of work accomplished over the past week and a few days has been nothing but impressive!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Imtotallynottribe
I’ve been in PC for most of the week working my arse off.

It’s amazing how much has been accomplished over the past week. This place looked like a war zone and if anyone told me on Wednesday that power would be restored the following Friday I’d say they’re smoking big fat crack rocks...but sure enough, power is being restored in PC, not just the main business areas, but the neighborhoods as well.

Verizon has been the only one to truly drop the ball, whether justified or not, it’s not a good look for them.

Anyhow...I hope the town can bounce back. Insurance adjusters seem to be lowballing on their adjustments leaving folks with half the money needed to rebuild. If that’s the case I’m worried people walk leaving their houses a mess. The blown down trees are bad enough, abandoned houses would be the nail in the coffin.

Time will tell what happens in the long run, but regardless of what does happen, the amount of work accomplished over the past week and a few days has been nothing but impressive!

I’m pretty confident the city will be back in a year or two. The main economic driving force for the area PCB was more or less completely untouched. And the rich aholes and tourists driving money to the area will mean PC and Lynn Haven will be filled with workers in the area.

Now don't get me wrong, both cities will be ugly for decades because there's only one out of ten trees still standing, but I think the actual financial recovery of the cities will be quick. And our adjuster (whom I spent all day with today) didn't lowball, he actually went out of his way to add a bunch of ticket items I wouldn't have bothered with. But I could have just been fortunate, I will freely admit that so far Ive been very lucky compared to others in the area.
 
I’m pretty confident the city will be back in a year or two. The main economic driving force for the area PCB was more or less completely untouched. And the rich aholes and tourists driving money to the area will mean PC and Lynn Haven will be filled with workers in the area.

Now don't get me wrong, both cities will be ugly for decades because there's only one out of ten trees still standing, but I think the actual financial recovery of the cities will be quick. And our adjuster (whom I spent all day with today) didn't lowball, he actually went out of his way to add a bunch of ticket items I wouldn't have bothered with. But I could have just been fortunate, I will freely admit that so far Ive been very lucky compared to others in the area.

Wonder how fast Tyndall will brought back to pre-storm.
 
I’m pretty confident the city will be back in a year or two. The main economic driving force for the area PCB was more or less completely untouched. And the rich aholes and tourists driving money to the area will mean PC and Lynn Haven will be filled with workers in the area.

Now don't get me wrong, both cities will be ugly for decades because there's only one out of ten trees still standing, but I think the actual financial recovery of the cities will be quick. And our adjuster (whom I spent all day with today) didn't lowball, he actually went out of his way to add a bunch of ticket items I wouldn't have bothered with. But I could have just been fortunate, I will freely admit that so far Ive been very lucky compared to others in the area.
It's counter intuitive here in the immediate aftermath but other urbanized areas hit by major storms have experienced a short term economic lift as federal recovery dollars and insurance payouts flow in to support reconstruction then over the longer term the more modern urban landscape becomes an improved economic asset.

It's the more rural communities that get hammered and stay hammered; it's the less well off who do not see the "economic benefits". That is, places like Arcadia go downhill while a Fort Myers will come out better.

I feel bad for everyone impacted but especially the average family in Wewa, Blountstown, Marianna and so forth.
 
It's counter intuitive here in the immediate aftermath but other urbanized areas hit by major storms have experienced a short term economic lift as federal recovery dollars and insurance payouts flow in to support reconstruction then over the longer term the more modern urban landscape becomes an improved economic asset.

It's the more rural communities that get hammered and stay hammered; it's the less well off who do not see the "economic benefits". That is, places like Arcadia go downhill while a Fort Myers will come out better.

I feel bad for everyone impacted but especially the average family in Wewa, Blountstown, Marianna and so forth.

I agree on the short term lift, lots of new money will be dumped into the area to be spent. However, my fear is that folks will take the insurance money to use as down payment on a new house in a new city.

And the PC economy is old fashion local commerce. Doctors, attorneys, small business owners, service guys, and sales people. The beach tourism has a very small economic impact on PC, at least compared to PCB. PC gets none of the bed tax, the money the tourist do bring in would be grabbing gas a lunch on the way out of town. Now the beaches and salt life in general are big drivers for people to move here, so hopefully that will keep some of the folks around.

Time will tell, I know our family isn’t going anywhere.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Imtotallynottribe
I agree on the short term lift, lots of new money will be dumped into the area to be spent. However, my fear is that folks will take the insurance money to use as down payment on a new house in a new city.

And the PC economy is old fashion local commerce. Doctors, attorneys, small business owners, service guys, and sales people. The beach tourism has a very small economic impact on PC, at least compared to PCB. PC gets none of the bed tax, the money the tourist do bring in would be grabbing gas a lunch on the way out of town. Now the beaches and salt life in general are big drivers for people to move here, so hopefully that will keep some of the folks around.

Time will tell, I know our family isn’t going anywhere.
Wouldn't that only apply if there is no mortgage on the property? What do you think the percentage is of homes without a note on them?

To your second point, this is the perfect opportunity for Panama City to reinvent themselves into a modern small city to attract families that can't afford South Walton and don't want to be in the middle of the party scene of PCB. It's not often a whole city can start from scratch.
 
Wouldn't that only apply if there is no mortgage on the property? What do you think the percentage is of homes without a note on them?.
Not necessarily. People can close on a new house first, and then walk from their old one and let it foreclose.

I doubt enough people will do that to cause a noticeable impact though.
 
Wouldn't the insurance company come after them? Just asking because I don't know.
You're free to use insurance proceeds however you want, and the insurance company wouldn't really have any additional cost in this scenario.

The checks and balances that are supposed to prevent this would be on the loan screening process for the lender on the new house. They should see that the buyer has massive exposure on their old house, and assess whether the buyer can cover both mortgages (hard to rent/sell the old house if it has no roof).
 
  • Like
Reactions: goldmom and DFSNOLE
Mexico Beach

Before
44350336_10214901106735402_7928467353052905472_o.jpg



After
43788191_2235622229845512_5103319036331032576_o.jpg



https://www.facebook.com/pg/skyproimaging/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2235621329845602
 
October storms aren't out of the question. Before Michael, I remember both Wilma and Opal impacting Florida in October. Wilma's 13 year anniversary is sometime in the coming week.
Agree - but this is within two weeks of one another. And it is the rapid intensification that is amazing. Wilma was actually the first storm I remember this happening on.

I am still amazed at how quick Michael developed. Almost nobody was aware until Sunday....and nobody, nobody knew it would be a storm of the millennium for the panhandle even on Monday afternoon.
 
Did any of the forecast models predict a Cat 3 or 4 to hit the Panhandle? I can only remember seeing a Cat 1, maybe low 2 when Michael first was a blip on the radar.
 
We are going to get the remains of Willa by Thursday. It’s expect to be just a depression.
 
Agree - but this is within two weeks of one another. And it is the rapid intensification that is amazing. Wilma was actually the first storm I remember this happening on.

I am still amazed at how quick Michael developed. Almost nobody was aware until Sunday....and nobody, nobody knew it would be a storm of the millennium for the panhandle even on Monday afternoon.
That is a fair point.
 
Agree - but this is within two weeks of one another. And it is the rapid intensification that is amazing. Wilma was actually the first storm I remember this happening on.

I am still amazed at how quick Michael developed. Almost nobody was aware until Sunday....and nobody, nobody knew it would be a storm of the millennium for the panhandle even on Monday afternoon.

Monday Afternoon in Tally I was laughing at the people in hours long lines for gas and emptying Publix..I was mystified people were acting like that for a minor storm:(
 
Monday Afternoon in Tally I was laughing at the people in hours long lines for gas and emptying Publix..I was mystified people were acting like that for a minor storm:(
That son of a gun deviates 30-40 miles east and Leon County would have no Canopy Roads. Worse, looking at death toll in west Gadsden, Jackson County and Seminole County Georgia and you could expect 10 times more would have died in Tallahassee
 
That son of a gun deviates 30-40 miles east and Leon County would have no Canopy Roads. Worse, looking at death toll in west Gadsden, Jackson County and Seminole County Georgia and you could expect 10 times more would have died in Tallahassee
True that. The difference in damage just from eastern Leon to the western part of the county is fairly significant. Then go into Gadsden and it gets worse by the mile.
Just for funsies, if you live in the fore mentioned areas, take a look at the pine canopy and note the random rather large limbs hanging by a thread.
We don’t need any more storms.
 
  • Like
Reactions: noleclone2
You should get them in Houston before then. We're forecast to have over an inch of rain on Thursday here from the remnants.
I saw that the building you completed in MB a few years ago, held together for the most part. Had a blow out on the 98 side. How did the beach side hold up?
 
  • Like
Reactions: DFSNOLE
I saw that the building you completed in MB a few years ago, held together for the most part. Had a blow out on the 98 side. How did the beach side hold up?
Lost some of the metal panels on the mansard roof. Other than that, it looked okay. Looked like all of the sliding doors held up. I've only seen photos. What blew out on the 98 side?
 
Lost some of the metal panels on the mansard roof. Other than that, it looked okay. Looked like all of the sliding doors held up. I've only seen photos. What blew out on the 98 side?
I think a window blew out on the top floor. Looked like a pretty big hole. I have been down there the last 2 weekends, but so much of it has been a blur
 
  • Like
Reactions: DFSNOLE
Lost some of the metal panels on the mansard roof. Other than that, it looked okay. Looked like all of the sliding doors held up. I've only seen photos. What blew out on the 98 side?

The building you built in MB was on the water?
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT