Hurricane Michael survivors offer advice in the aftermath of Ian

Storm-weary residents of North Florida watched with knowing eyes as Hurricane Ian — initially forecast to hit their area — took a fateful turn to the east instead, pulverizing portions of the southwest coast and flooding communities across the I-4 corridor and beyond.

From Panama City and Mexico Beach to small inland towns and cities across the Panhandle and Big Bend, people who endured Hurricane Michael know what it's like to lose their homes, their belongings, even their loved ones to a monster storm.

On Oct. 10, 2018 — four years ago Monday — Michael roared ashore near Mexico Beach with winds of 160 mph and storm surge of 10 feet and higher. It was the first Category 5 storm to ever hit North Florida and the last hurricane to wreak widespread destruction in the state until Ian.

Category 4 Ian struck a more densely populated and developed part of the state, leaving behind a natural disaster that already has eclipsed Michael in deaths and likely damage. But it will test the multitude of survivors just the same as they pick up the pieces of their lives.

"It's so devastating down there compared to even here," said Charles McKinney, whose home in St. Andrews was destroyed by Michael. "I know it got bad here and Mexico Beach got pretty much wiped out. But a place like here, it's thousands of homes and businesses ... when you've got millions down there. But it's like anywhere, you've just got to have faith that it's gonna all work out eventually."

North Florida is still rebuilding in the aftermath of Michael — a reminder that the recovery from Ian, a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds and ferocious storm surge, will take years.

In Panama City alone, 85% of buildings and homes were destroyed and more than a million trees lost in Hurricane Michael, producing more than 5 million cubic yards of debris, said City Manager Mark McQueen. Today, some 200 projects to rebuild roads, bridges, marinas, parks and water and sewer lines and other infrastructure are still underway, some with years left until completion.

"A recovery from a storm like that — it's not going to be done in a sprint," McQueen said. "It's a marathon. It's every day making progress. And it's very challenging. It's very difficult. It's been a Herculean lift."

The long path ahead for victims of Ian will be fraught with problems and perils familiar to those who endured Michael: insurance company fights, home repair scams and government bureaucracy among them.

"We learned that FEMA is not going to be there like you think they are," said Melissa Peddie, a paramedic in hard-hit Liberty County. "We just assumed that they were going to show up and save the day, and that's not how it happened. I think some of those people down in South Florida are going to learn some of those lessons that we learned up here."

'People don't just bounce

back from this'

Peddie, who rode out Michael at the Emergency Operations Center until conditions were safe for rescuers, will never forget the harrowing day Michael descended on Bristol, a town of little more than 1,000 people some 40-plus miles inland.

As she and other emergency workers hunkered down at the EOC, reports came in that the shelter where her youngest child and grandchildren were staying might lift off its foundation. Once the storm passed, phones were dead and roads blocked.

"Nobody knew if their family was alive or dead," she said. "We didn't know if our homes were still standing. It took a couple of days before we could even get to our house to see if it was still standing because of the debris that was in the road."

Her house suffered damage in the storm, though it wasn't as bad as the wreckage at her in-laws' 200-year-old house from a massive fallen pecan tree. Repairs weren't finished until about a week ago, she said.

"We're not back to normal," she said. "And the post-traumatic stress that comes from that — well, I don't think it will ever go away. People don't just bounce back from this mentally, physically or financially. Here we are four years into it, and people are still struggling."

She and others cautioned Ian victims to beware of unlicensed contractors charging thousands to cut down a single tree or put up a cheap blue tarp. McQueen urged people to run repairs by their insurance companies and check MyFloridaLicense.com to find licensed contractors.

Judy Tinder, a Lynn Haven city council member, said storm victims shouldn't sign documents allowing contractors to turn in their bills to insurance companies, something she did that led to a $42,000 charge for "some piddly thing."

"You can't have any expectations for how long it's going to take," Tinder said. "That way, you're not constantly disappointed."

Amid the scammers, Michael also prompted a massive outpouring from nonprofits, churches and countless others, who delivered supplies, hot meals and consolation. Similar relief efforts are ongoing now, with trucks of supplies departing from all over, including Panama City and Tallahassee.

"The one thing that I would tell everyone is to keep your faith," Peddie said. "If it wasn't for my faith in the Lord, I don't think that we could have made it through. And the other thing was I thank God for the many people that came and helped us in our time of need. I'll never forget that."

'The hardest part is just enduring'

Becky Daniel and her wife Monica Barber of St. Joe Beach fled to Tallahassee to stay with family in the hours before Michael hit the coast.

They knew their house was in trouble when storm chasers they were watching live on Facebook happened to drive by it and mention that they just saw the roof blow off. Daniel and Barber watched as the driver and cameraman abandoned their vehicle to find higher ground.

"The camera was left in the truck on the dashboard, and the truck started floating," Daniel said. "And it was then we had a pretty good idea of how bad it was."

They were still shocked to find what was left of their home, which overlooked the Gulf from across Highway 98 less than a mile from Mexico Beach. The hurricane washed away three houses on beach and sent the debris smashing into their place, tearing off the roof and siding and leaving behind a cinder-block skeleton.

Daniel, a builder, and Barber, an engineer, spent the ensuing months building their new house and living with their dog in a cramped RV on the lot.

"The hardest part is just enduring," Daniel said. "I think about these people in Fort Myers right now. You don't know what to do. There's no good place to start. It's just overwhelming."

'You never stop missing'

loved ones lost in the storm

Wind, surge and flooding from Michael killed 16 people in the U.S., including seven in Florida, and was blamed for the deaths of 43 others, all in the Sunshine State, from falls, accidents and delayed medical care.

Counted among the casualties was the Rev. Charles Ash Sr., pastor of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church, who resided in the tiny Gadsden County town of Sawdust with his wife, Patricia. Frail from illness, his health failed as he waited for an ambulance hampered by high winds and downed trees.

His pulse was weak by the time paramedics were able to reach him. He died the day after Michael made landfall at a Tallahassee hospital, leaving behind his wife, five children and more grandchildren.

"It was hard," Patricia Ash said. "It was a shock. You never stop missing him."

She said survivors of Ian, especially those who lost loved ones, will have to find strength in their faith to go on. The death toll from the hurricane topped 100 last week, with most of the fatalities in Florida.

"Take one day at a time," Ash said. "It know it's hard. It's not easy. Nothing about it is easy. But you have to try to be strong and just pray that God will help you through it."