Severe Storm Damages Florida Homes Still In Disrepair After Hurricane Michael

Jan. 21--BAY COUNTY -- One hundred days after Hurricane Michael, the sound of flapping tarps and dripping water still sends hearts racing in Bay County as many homes still sit in disrepair, their owners caught in insurance and contractor limbo.

Mother Nature, though, is not so patient.

Severe weather Saturday night that spawned an apparent tornado on Tyndall Air Force Base wreaked havoc on tarped roofs throughout the county, causing many families to lose the thin plastic covering separating their belongings from the pounding rain outside after they caught the gale-force wind like great blue sails. Sunday morning's frigid cold and gusty breeze meant less than ideal conditions for climbing on a roof and wrangling a tarp but for those looking to avoid further damage to their property, there was little choice.

Among those making the climb was Ann Roney's husband, who scaled the shed adjacent to their Southport home to secure the tarp they lost in the storm. The shed's roof completely blew off during Hurricane Michael and the couple tarped it immediately, but keep losing it in storms.

"We are hoping our roofs both get fixed within the next few weeks," Roney said. "It's been only a fight with our insurance and mortgage company to release funds so we can start repairs."

The storm peeled off the tarp of Stephanie Youngblood's mother's home on 19th Street, exposing the gaping holes in her roof left behind by the nine trees that fell on the structure. They have to wait for the wind to die down before they can replace the tarp, but because not much water got in and the interior walls need to be removed anyways, Youngblood is hopeful there won't be any additional damage.

"She's been there for 46 years," Youngblood said. "I grew up here. I used to call her house 'the 19th Street Rainforest.' She lost over 25 trees in her yard, nine fell on or in her house."

Youngblood's mother is currently staying with her.

For some, like Leslie Rhinehart, this has been a regular occurrence since Hurricane Michael.

"We didn't lose our tarp last night, but did spring a new leak," Rhinehart said. "But we're down to only three from seventeen the last storm. We have a third tarp on now too -- a heavy-duty one this time."

Even residents who have managed to get their roofs fixed weren't immune to the dreaded dripping

"We have had four leaks in five weeks since our new roof went on," said Kristy Scott. "Our tarp worked better than the new roof."

According to the National Weather Service, the wind will start to pick up around Tuesday this week. Wednesday calls for an 80 percent chance of rain and a strong breeze carrying over into Wednesday night.

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