US FEMA Hurricane (CR)
Florida's panhandle braces for Hurricane Michael
Story No.: apus105353
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS , POOL
Dateline: Panama City Beach / Washington - 10 October 2018
Date: 10/10/2018 03:00 PM
Panama City Beach, Florida - 10 October 2018
1. Wide, houses on beach
2. Mid, waves on beach
3. Various, people taking photos on the beach
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Barnett, Panama City resident:
"Because I love my little house, my fish and my boat so ... We're going to try and keep an eye on it. Probably a stupid thing to do. But I have done dumber things. (Reporter: The swell is coming up and things are getting progressively worse, what's the next plan for you?) The next plan is to go back and look at the house and if it gets really scary and the trees get ... look like they are going to go around me, I am outta here. One way or another. But we'll stay until we think that we shouldn't."
4. Wide, beach scene
5. Close-up pan waves rising, as Barnett takes photographs of surf
6. Various, palm trees in the wind
Washington - 10 October 2018
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Brock Long, FEMA Director:
"This is, here again and I keep saying this word far too much, is unprecedented. So it's going to be a major hit. The power is going to be off for multiple weeks and you need to get your mindset set on that and do what you can to prepare to overcome that."
"Not only are we going to see devastating storm surge push through Florida which causes the most amount of destruction to facilities along the coast but the high winds as well. You know the Florida building code of 2001 went up to basically Cat 3 standards so anything you know built after 2001 is designed to really handle Cat 3 and not much more after that. So we're going to see a lot of wind damage. You know and particularly the buildings that were built before 2001 you're going to see a lot of wind damage as this storm brings 145 mile an hour winds inland. The other thing is is that the citizens in Georgia need to wake up and pay attention. Bottom line is this is going to be the worst storm the southwest Georgia and central Georgia seen in many many decades, if not the worst storm that the state has seen and it's going to pass through and impact numerous counties."
"I mean we are as ready as we can be and rapidly intensifying storms in the Gulf ... It's not a new phenomena. You know, we first started getting alerts on this from our partners at the National Weather Service on Saturday. You know my phone was lighting up on Saturday morning, saying hey there's a disturbance down there and our guys know our response guys know that anything in the Gulf this time of year, this is major hurricane season, the waters are warm it can spring up and you know go from a simple disturbance to a major landfalling hurricane. Hurricane Camille in 1969 which is one only three Category 5 storm to ever make landfall since 1851 went basically from a named storm to a Cat 5 in less than 72 hours. So, we use history we use that to always plan at least one category higher and in some cases two because we know that intensity forecasting in the Gulf is extremely difficult. The real problem is is that citizens who are unfamiliar and this is this has happened in this part of the Florida Panhandle. They don't realize this and it's a, it's a public education. It's hard for us to get our message out there on blue sky days when things aren't being blown up and your life isn't being threatened. But we continue to push forward on that and try to help people educate that living in the Gulf Coast can be very dangerous and these things happen so that they have less time to prepare their house their their businesses and also heed warnings."
10. End of news conference
The storm surge from Hurricane Michael has come ashore and is growing deeper.
According to a National Hurricane Center update, a National Ocean Service water level station at Apalachicola reported over 4 feet (1 meter) of inundation above ground level by midmorning Wednesday. Forecasters have said the hurricane could push up to 14 feet (4 meters) of ocean water ashore in Apalachicola, surging over normal tides.
Waves are already gnawing away at the base of sand dunes at Panama City Beach.
One Panama City resident, Bob Barnett, says he hasn't left yet because of his house and boat.
"The next plan is to go back and look at the house and if it gets really scary and the trees get ... look like they are going to go around me, I am outta here, one way or another. "
Officials are upset that holdouts will soon be surrounded by water.
About 50 people resisted evacuating from St. George Island, and two people on Dog Island, which is only accessible by boat, also ignored evacuation orders.
Franklin County emergency management coordinator Tress Dameron told The News Herald in Panama City that people who stayed better be wearing their life jackets.
FEMA Director Brock Long says his agency has nearly 3,000 people in the field ready to assist with Hurricane Michael.
He says teams and aircraft are ready to support any search and rescue missions in Florida or elsewhere, and that staging areas with commodities needed after storms have been set up in Atlanta and at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.
Long also warned residents of Georgia to "wake up and pay attention."
"Bottom line is this is going to be the worst storm the southwest Georgia and central Georgia seen in many many decades, if not the worst storm that the state has seen and it's going to pass through and impact numerous counties," he said.
Disaster planning and response , Accidents and disasters , General news , Storms , Weather , Weather , Hurricane Michael , Natural disasters , Hurricanes , Tropical cyclones , Tropical cyclones , Emergency management , Government and politics
Florida , United States , North America , Georgia , Panama City