Hurricane Michael

[tcufrog]

My sister lives in Smyrna, GA and even though they weren’t in the main path of the storm they got 7” of rain.

 

[luvsJack]

While tourism *is* a large part of the economy, it isn't the only part. There is a large military presence in the area, so servicing the bases is also a big employment area, as is the fishing industry (primarily shellfish harvesting).

Luckily, the primary tourism season has passed; this area is far enough north that the water gets too cold to swim in the winter months, so their primary tourist season is spring break through Labor Day weekend. (Tourists still go for the fishing and the retirees for the generally warm weather, but this area does often get down to about freezing in winter, so not so much of their winter tourism is beach-centered.)

The St. Joe Company, which used to be the paper processor, is now the largest developer in Florida. They have always been in the land business, first growing pine trees to provide paper pulp, and now growing resort communities.

Sounds just like our coastal area. Air Force and Navy, fishing and shrimping. Of course the casinos. But it stays bustling year round.

Seeing the footage of Mexico Beach, I hope not, but next tourism season may be hit hard. Panama City Beach starts getting people in March and 5 months just isn’t long at all.

 

[Kitty 34]

I've read many articles and have seen videos of Hurricane Michael. Pretty scary event for those in the pathway. Prayers and positive thoughts go out to the many who now have to rebuild.

 

[OneOftheB's]

We have vacationed multiple times in the Port St Joe/Cape San Blas area as well as Mexico Beach. The video footage I've seen of MB is the stuff of nightmares. It's an area that enjoys the tourist dollar and it will be years before MB recovers. I haven't seen as much about PSJ and hope it faired a bit better.

 

[Suprachica79]

From the pictures, it’s seems outside of tourism, it’s extremely depressed. A lot of the video is of leveled trailer parks, those poor people don’t seem to have the money to rebuild, can’t imagine what they will do.

 

[fla4fun]

We had issues with cell service after Irma. I have debated getting rid of my landline many times, but it was a lifeline after the storm. We have an old phone we can plug in when the power is out that will work, unlike our fancy cordless ones that won’t work unless the base unit has power. Our power wasn’t out for long, but it would go out intermittently. So many people have dropped their landline service and are cell only, but I just can’t yet.

I am keeping those in Michael’s path in my thoughts and hope everyone stays safe during the recovery phase.

 

[luvsJack]

We had issues with cell service after Irma. I have debated getting rid of my landline many times, but it was a lifeline after the storm. We have an old phone we can plug in when the power is out that will work, unlike our fancy cordless ones that won’t work unless the base unit has power. Our power wasn’t out for long, but it would go out intermittently. So many people have dropped their landline service and are cell only, but I just can’t yet.

I am keeping those in Michael’s path in my thoughts and hope everyone stays safe during the recovery phase.

Cell service was a big issue after Katrina. But land lines wouldn’t have helped. My sis and my mom still had land lines and it took longer to get those back than cell service. For weeks we would have to drive to certain spots in the area where we could get a bar or two and maybe call out.

 

[fla4fun]

Cell service was a big issue after Katrina. But land lines wouldn’t have helped. My sis and my mom still had land lines and it took longer to get those back than cell service. For weeks we would have to drive to certain spots in the area where we could get a bar or two and maybe call out.

Maybe it helps that our utilities are all buried here. I imagine any area with above ground line would have issues. We have a cell tower on the hill opposite us, but it was damaged during Irma, which is why we had signal issues. There’s really no one size fits all when it comes to storm recovery, but I’m just not ready to give up the back up yet.

 

[Southernmiss]

We had a land line in Katrina as did our next door neighbors. We evacuated. They did not. When the worst was over, I called our neighbor to check on our house to see if we could come home. I talked to the neighbor, but after we hung up, she said the lines went out. And stayed out for weeks.

Our lines are underground.

We've since gone to only cell phones and have not missed the land line.

I am hoping lessons were learned in Katrina and that should we have a bad one again, the cell infrastructure will be better.

 

[NotUrsula]

From the pictures, it’s seems outside of tourism, it’s extremely depressed. A lot of the video is of leveled trailer parks, those poor people don’t seem to have the money to rebuild, can’t imagine what they will do.

Well, yes and no. Some of the folks who live in trailer parks are dirt poor, true enough, but a lot of the trailer parks in the panhandle area are full of retirees from elsewhere who buy mobile homes because they are so much less expensive, which frees up more of their funds for travel and living expenses, and often the 55+ parks are set up like co-op apartment buildings, with the residents owning the land in common. The majority of the others rent out the space to owner-occupied mobile homes, which is kind of the middle ground, and is often a popular option for working-class families who make at least in the neighborhood of $35K/year, so that they can actually build some equity rather than forever paying rent.

Parks that actually own the homes and rent them, as opposed to only the space each occupies, are a lot less common, and those probably will not be rebuilt, especially if they are nearer the water on prime land. Those parks are the ones that serve the poorest residents, along with some rural mobile homes that are on family-owned land, but where the land has very little value and the family has almost no cash. A lot of the panhandle is VERY rural, and rural families will often give a helping hand to an adult child by allowing them to temporarily place a mobile home on land that is rent-free. Where I grew up there really were no rental units available, so if you wanted to move out of your parents' home but stay in the area, a mobile home on family land was the usual first step until you had enough saved to buy or build a house.

 

[Suprachica79]

Well, yes and no. Some of the folks who live in trailer parks are dirt poor, true enough, but a lot of the trailer parks in the panhandle area are full of retirees from elsewhere who buy mobile homes because they are so much less expensive, which frees up more of their funds for travel and living expenses, and often the 55+ parks are set up like co-op apartment buildings, with the residents owning the land in common. The majority of the others rent out the space to owner-occupied mobile homes, which is kind of the middle ground, and is often a popular option for working-class families who make at least in the neighborhood of $35K/year, so that they can actually build some equity rather than forever paying rent.

Parks that actually own the homes and rent them, as opposed to only the space each occupies, are a lot less common, and those probably will not be rebuilt, especially if they are nearer the water on prime land. Those parks are the ones that serve the poorest residents, along with some rural mobile homes that are on family-owned land, but where the land has very little value and the family has almost no cash. A lot of the panhandle is VERY rural, and rural families will often give a helping hand to an adult child by allowing them to temporarily place a mobile home on land that is rent-free. Where I grew up there really were no rental units available, so if you wanted to move out of your parents' home but stay in the area, a mobile home on family land was the usual first step until you had enough saved to buy or build a house.

Thank yo for educating me on this, from where I come from, a trailer park is strictly for those with next to no money who don’t have many options. So it sounds like a lot of these people may be ok; but the ones who will need the most help likely won’t get it....

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Well, yes and no. Some of the folks who live in trailer parks are dirt poor, true enough, but a lot of the trailer parks in the panhandle area are full of retirees from elsewhere who buy mobile homes because they are so much less expensive, which frees up more of their funds for travel and living expenses, and often the 55+ parks are set up like co-op apartment buildings, with the residents owning the land in common. The majority of the others rent out the space to owner-occupied mobile homes, which is kind of the middle ground, and is often a popular option for working-class families who make at least in the neighborhood of $35K/year, so that they can actually build some equity rather than forever paying rent.

Parks that actually own the homes and rent them, as opposed to only the space each occupies, are a lot less common, and those probably will not be rebuilt, especially if they are nearer the water on prime land. Those parks are the ones that serve the poorest residents, along with some rural mobile homes that are on family-owned land, but where the land has very little value and the family has almost no cash. A lot of the panhandle is VERY rural, and rural families will often give a helping hand to an adult child by allowing them to temporarily place a mobile home on land that is rent-free. Where I grew up there really were no rental units available, so if you wanted to move out of your parents' home but stay in the area, a mobile home on family land was the usual first step until you had enough saved to buy or build a house.

I don't know about trailer parks in the panhandle, but we've met many people who own trailers in South Florida & the lot rent alone is $900 a month. Very few people in trailer parks own the property their trailer sits on. A friend rents a two bedroom trailer for $1,600 a month. We know another guy that rented one room in a double wide. He had a room & a bathroom (no other access to the home) for $1,100 a month. At least in South Florida, living in a trailer park doesn't mean someone is living in poverty. If they were, they couldn't afford to live in the trailer parks we know about. It's a very different situation than trailer parks in other places we've lived. Since I don't know anyone living in a trailer park in the panhandle, I don't know, if it's the same there. South Florida housing is crazy though.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thank yo for educating me on this, from where I come from, a trailer park is strictly for those with next to no money who don’t have many options. So it sounds like a lot of these people may be ok; but the ones who will need the most help likely won’t get it....

You have a kind heart. Hopefully, FEMA will help those who have no options at all. I really don't know what all they do, but it seems like helping those that would otherwise be homeless should be a top priority.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

I deal with multiple businesses and individuals in the panhandle, from Pensacola to Tallahassee and so far all have been very fortunate. One lost a vacation home but that can be rebuilt. It’s hard to deal with people on a daily basis and not get attached even though it’s just a customer that I’ve only met in person a couple of times.
I’ve been through hurricanes before and the realization of the devastation afterwards is almost as bad as the storm itself, it’s heartbreaking to see your life washed away.

 

[Suprachica79]

You have a kind heart. Hopefully, FEMA will help those who have no options at all. I really don't know what all they do, but it seems like helping those that would otherwise be homeless should be a top priority.

My wife’s parents and sister live in Morehead City, NC which was pummeled by the hurricane that just went through the Carolinas. Luckily, they saw very little damage, but FEMA has already denied a claim from their close friends who’s home had 4 feet of standing water from storm surge. They were not considered to be in a flood zone, where many people from the storm surge are actually situated, so they were denied. They have lost everything, so I have little faith that FEMA will help these people in the pan handle unless they are forced/shamed into it.

 

[Southernmiss]

My wife’s parents and sister live in Morehead City, NC which was pummeled by the hurricane that just went through the Carolinas. Luckily, they saw very little damage, but FEMA has already denied a claim from their close friends who’s home had 4 feet of standing water from storm surge. They were not considered to be in a flood zone, where many people from the storm surge are actually situated, so they were denied. They have lost everything, so I have little faith that FEMA will help these people in the pan handle unless they are forced/shamed into it.

And that's how the nightmare continues. The fight with insurance companies and FEMA can be a second gut punch and worse than losing your property the first time.

Look up State Farm and the Rigsby sisters. Insurance adjusters who were ordered by State Farm to deny claims that should have been paid.

 

[luvsJack]

Well, yes and no. Some of the folks who live in trailer parks are dirt poor, true enough, but a lot of the trailer parks in the panhandle area are full of retirees from elsewhere who buy mobile homes because they are so much less expensive, which frees up more of their funds for travel and living expenses, and often the 55+ parks are set up like co-op apartment buildings, with the residents owning the land in common. The majority of the others rent out the space to owner-occupied mobile homes, which is kind of the middle ground, and is often a popular option for working-class families who make at least in the neighborhood of $35K/year, so that they can actually build some equity rather than forever paying rent.

Parks that actually own the homes and rent them, as opposed to only the space each occupies, are a lot less common, and those probably will not be rebuilt, especially if they are nearer the water on prime land. Those parks are the ones that serve the poorest residents, along with some rural mobile homes that are on family-owned land, but where the land has very little value and the family has almost no cash. A lot of the panhandle is VERY rural, and rural families will often give a helping hand to an adult child by allowing them to temporarily place a mobile home on land that is rent-free. Where I grew up there really were no rental units available, so if you wanted to move out of your parents' home but stay in the area, a mobile home on family land was the usual first step until you had enough saved to buy or build a house.

Not sure where you lived in the panhandle but the land there is a far cry from “little value”.

A lot of young couple do start out with mobile homes on family land here in the south or used to. But the land isn’t worthless. Quite the opposite actually. Now the family not having cash may or may not be true but that doesn’t always have anything to do with the worth of the land they live on. I, myself, live on family land. When we built our house 18 years ago the land was $8000 an acre. It’s quite a bit more now. The land in the rural areas of the panhandle is quite similar.



As for the pp’s question or post, mobile homes used to show lower income areas. Not so much anymore. Sometimes it’s people who live in an area seasonally (snowbirds or people that work in the area in the tourist season or shrimp season).

 

[tarheelmjfan]

My wife’s parents and sister live in Morehead City, NC which was pummeled by the hurricane that just went through the Carolinas. Luckily, they saw very little damage, but FEMA has already denied a claim from their close friends who’s home had 4 feet of standing water from storm surge. They were not considered to be in a flood zone, where many people from the storm surge are actually situated, so they were denied. They have lost everything, so I have little faith that FEMA will help these people in the pan handle unless they are forced/shamed into it.

That's sad & frustrating. I really should have known better, but I hoped FEMA was different. I'll leave it at that, so I don't get into politics.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

And that's how the nightmare continues. The fight with insurance companies and FEMA can be a second gut punch and worse than losing your property the first time.

Look up State Farm and the Rigsby sisters. Insurance adjusters who were ordered by State Farm to deny claims that should have been paid.

Insurance here is outrageous. The infuriates me.

 

[luvsJack]

My wrestling kids are in a planning session tonight about putting together a benefit for the victims of Hurricane Michael. It may take them a few weeks as it’s a bit of work putting a show together but we are hoping to get donations either monetary or items that can be raffled off as well as all ticket money going to the cause.

They have some wrestlers they have worked with that have lost everything. And a couple more they haven’t been able to reach. DS has a house full of friends that evacuated here but they don’t know if the ones they can’t reach evacuated or not.