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| Hurricane Michael Live Updates: Damages and Deaths Come Into Focus | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A clearer picture emerged of the destruction left by Hurricane Michael on Friday, as rescue workers converged in flattened cities and residents returned nervously to their neighborhoods. | A clearer picture emerged of the destruction left by Hurricane Michael on Friday, as rescue workers converged in flattened cities and residents returned nervously to their neighborhoods. |
| The catastrophic hurricane, one of the most powerful to hit the United States, killed at least six people and raced through the Southeast as quickly as it arrived, weakening to a tropical storm before blowing out to sea early Friday morning. More than a million homes and businesses lost power, hospitals were evacuated just as they were needed most and disaster responders searched the rubble for survivors. | The catastrophic hurricane, one of the most powerful to hit the United States, killed at least six people and raced through the Southeast as quickly as it arrived, weakening to a tropical storm before blowing out to sea early Friday morning. More than a million homes and businesses lost power, hospitals were evacuated just as they were needed most and disaster responders searched the rubble for survivors. |
| “So many lives have been changed forever, so many families have lost everything,” said Gov. Rick Scott of Florida. “Homes are gone, businesses are gone. Roads and infrastructure along the storm’s path have been destroyed. This hurricane was an absolute monster.” | “So many lives have been changed forever, so many families have lost everything,” said Gov. Rick Scott of Florida. “Homes are gone, businesses are gone. Roads and infrastructure along the storm’s path have been destroyed. This hurricane was an absolute monster.” |
| Here’s the latest: | Here’s the latest: |
| • At least six people have died, and the death toll is expected to rise as disaster workers and emergency medical personnel gain access to the hardest-hit areas. Many roads remain impassable. | • At least six people have died, and the death toll is expected to rise as disaster workers and emergency medical personnel gain access to the hardest-hit areas. Many roads remain impassable. |
| • Four deaths occurred in Gadsden County, west of Tallahassee, according to Lt. Anglie Hightower, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office. The victims included a man who died when a tree crashed down on his home in Greensboro. | • Four deaths occurred in Gadsden County, west of Tallahassee, according to Lt. Anglie Hightower, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office. The victims included a man who died when a tree crashed down on his home in Greensboro. |
| • An 11-year-old girl, Sarah Radney, was killed on Wednesday when a carport was torn away and was sent hurtling into the modular home she was in, said Chad Smith, the coroner of Seminole County, Ga. | • An 11-year-old girl, Sarah Radney, was killed on Wednesday when a carport was torn away and was sent hurtling into the modular home she was in, said Chad Smith, the coroner of Seminole County, Ga. |
| • It has been a tough few weeks for the Carolinas. After thrashing the Florida Panhandle, Michael slogged through states still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Florence last month. | • It has been a tough few weeks for the Carolinas. After thrashing the Florida Panhandle, Michael slogged through states still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Florence last month. |
| • Much of the coast of the Florida Panhandle, including Mexico Beach and Panama City, was left in ruins. The area is dotted with small, rural communities, some of them among the poorest in the state. Read more about how the storm was hard on people without the means to evacuate. | |
| Roy Radney, Sarah Radney’s father, said his daughter had gone to visit her grandparents earlier in the week while she and her siblings were on fall break. | Roy Radney, Sarah Radney’s father, said his daughter had gone to visit her grandparents earlier in the week while she and her siblings were on fall break. |
| As the storm churned through the part of southwest Georgia where the grandparents lived, Mr. Radney, 37, called to check in at least once an hour, and sometimes every 15 minutes. Things were fine at first. | As the storm churned through the part of southwest Georgia where the grandparents lived, Mr. Radney, 37, called to check in at least once an hour, and sometimes every 15 minutes. Things were fine at first. |
| But on Wednesday afternoon he got a call from his brother. The reception was bad and Mr. Radney could not quite make out what his brother was saying. But he could tell he was crying. | But on Wednesday afternoon he got a call from his brother. The reception was bad and Mr. Radney could not quite make out what his brother was saying. But he could tell he was crying. |
| “When I finally got through and spoke to my mom, my mom said Sarah had been hit in the head,” Mr. Radney said. | “When I finally got through and spoke to my mom, my mom said Sarah had been hit in the head,” Mr. Radney said. |
| The wind, he was told, had lifted up a portable carport that had been behind the house and thrust it toward the home. One of its legs burst through and struck both Sarah and Mr. Radney’s mother. His mother’s lung was punctured, her rib broken. Sarah’s head injury left her gasping for air for 45 minutes to an hour. | The wind, he was told, had lifted up a portable carport that had been behind the house and thrust it toward the home. One of its legs burst through and struck both Sarah and Mr. Radney’s mother. His mother’s lung was punctured, her rib broken. Sarah’s head injury left her gasping for air for 45 minutes to an hour. |
| “Last night was just hell,” Mr. Radney said. “I’m an hour and a quarter away, and my daughter’s dying, and I can’t do anything about it. I can’t think of anything that is more related to hell than that.” | “Last night was just hell,” Mr. Radney said. “I’m an hour and a quarter away, and my daughter’s dying, and I can’t do anything about it. I can’t think of anything that is more related to hell than that.” |
| Then, finally, Mr. Radney and his wife got through again, and his father told Mr. Radney’s wife that Sarah had died. | Then, finally, Mr. Radney and his wife got through again, and his father told Mr. Radney’s wife that Sarah had died. |
| “And that’s about the end of the story,” Mr. Radney said. | “And that’s about the end of the story,” Mr. Radney said. |
| [Read more about Mr. Radney’s memories of Sarah here.] | |
| The seaside community of Mexico Beach, where the storm made landfall, was a flattened wreck. Across the small sport-fishing town, piers and docks were destroyed, fishing boats were piled crazily on shore and townspeople wandered the streets in horror and wonder. | |
| “These were all block and stucco houses — gone,” said Tom Bailey, the former mayor. “The mother of all bombs doesn’t do any more damage than this.” | |
| In Florida, the road to Mexico Beach became passable Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after Michael made landfall, and it became evident that few communities had suffered more. Known for its sport fishing, the city of about 2,000 permanent residents swells to as many as 14,000 in July, and is known for having a relaxed, small-town feel compared with the brash tourist strips of Panama City Beach or the tony nearby beach developments of Alys Beach or Seaside. | |
| But this week, after winds that reached 155 miles per hour, much of the town was in ruins. There were few locals to be found, and fewer tourists. | |
| [Click on the image below to get a sense of the scale of the destruction in Mexico Beach.] | |
| While the coastal devastation has become obvious, some disaster experts are most concerned about the conditions farther inland. | |
| Andrew Schroeder, research and analytics director for Direct Relief, said data analyzed by his humanitarian organization showed that people from the coasts had evacuated relatively short distances, to areas that the storm also raked with high winds and cut power lines. | Andrew Schroeder, research and analytics director for Direct Relief, said data analyzed by his humanitarian organization showed that people from the coasts had evacuated relatively short distances, to areas that the storm also raked with high winds and cut power lines. |
| [Here is how you can help victims of Hurricane Michael.] | |
| “These are some of the most socially vulnerable places in the entire country,” Mr. Schroeder said, low-income counties with high proportions of older adults, and many people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. | “These are some of the most socially vulnerable places in the entire country,” Mr. Schroeder said, low-income counties with high proportions of older adults, and many people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. |
| These inland areas were “where the focus has to be,” he said. But assessing the impact will take time. “You only find out about a lot of this stuff after the peak of the attention curve.” | These inland areas were “where the focus has to be,” he said. But assessing the impact will take time. “You only find out about a lot of this stuff after the peak of the attention curve.” |
| The photographers Gabriella Angotti-Jones, Scott McIntyre, Johnny Milano and Eric Thayer are on the ground in Florida covering the storm for The New York Times. See their images here. | |
| Hurricane Michael could inflict wind and storm-surge losses of up to $4.5 billion, according to CoreLogic, a data-analytics company in Irvine, Calif., that bases its estimates on the replacement cost of houses and other structures in the paths of major storms before they hit. | Hurricane Michael could inflict wind and storm-surge losses of up to $4.5 billion, according to CoreLogic, a data-analytics company in Irvine, Calif., that bases its estimates on the replacement cost of houses and other structures in the paths of major storms before they hit. |
| Sharper estimates are expected in the coming weeks, as homeowners report their actual losses to insurers. Property insurers in Florida tend to be younger, smaller companies than those elsewhere, but analysts said they appeared adequately cushioned with reinsurance and were expected to bounce back. | Sharper estimates are expected in the coming weeks, as homeowners report their actual losses to insurers. Property insurers in Florida tend to be younger, smaller companies than those elsewhere, but analysts said they appeared adequately cushioned with reinsurance and were expected to bounce back. |
| CoreLogic’s estimate does not include the cost of flood damage, which is borne by the National Flood Insurance Program, operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Standard homeowners’ policies do not cover flood damage, and people who live on designated floodplains are required to buy $250,000 worth of coverage from the federal program. The requirement has been hard to enforce, though, and many people who should have the insurance do not. | CoreLogic’s estimate does not include the cost of flood damage, which is borne by the National Flood Insurance Program, operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Standard homeowners’ policies do not cover flood damage, and people who live on designated floodplains are required to buy $250,000 worth of coverage from the federal program. The requirement has been hard to enforce, though, and many people who should have the insurance do not. |
| The eye of the storm cut directly over Tyndal Air Force Base, which sits on a narrow spit of land that juts into the Gulf of Mexico, about a dozen miles south of Panama City. Trees bent in the howling wind, then splintered. Stormproof roofs only a few months old peeled like old paint and were scraped away by the gale. An F-15 fighter jet on display at the base entrance was ripped from its foundation and pitched onto its back amid twisted flagpoles and uprooted trees. | |
| When it was over, the base lay in ruins, amid what the Air Force called “widespread catastrophic damage.” There were no reported injuries, in part because nearly all personnel had been ordered to leave in advance of the Category 4 hurricane’s landfall. Commanders still sifting through mounds of wreckage Thursday could not say when evacuation orders would be lifted. | |
| [Read more here about how many of the buildings there were “a complete loss.”] |