Here’s where Hurricane Michael damage and recovery stand more than a week later

Nation Oct 19, 2018 3:08 PM EDT

It’s been nine days since Hurricane Michael, one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S. in nearly 50 years, made landfall. Most of the storm’s damage was sustained by coastal towns of the Florida Panhandle, where 155 mph winds and a storm surge knocked out power lines and left thousands without access to food and water.

In Florida’s hardest-hit Bay County area, Mexico Beach residents were allowed to return home for the first time on Wednesday to survey the scope of the storm’s damage.

Here’s where the numbers stand today:

The death toll rose to at least 30 people across the U.S. Southeast. Twenty of those deaths were confirmed in Florida, six were reported in Virginia, one in Georgia and three in North Carolina, the Associated Press reported.

More than 124,000 customers in Florida and Georgia are still without power. The number has dropped from more than 1 million across the Southeast at its peak. Some in Florida’s hurricane-ravaged areas may not have power restored for another week or two, Reuters reports.

Cellphone service is being restored, but remains spotty in some areas. Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Rick Scott called Verizon out for the pace of restoration. But on Wednesday, service finally resumed for Panama City residents and the company announced it would be giving three months’ free service to customers in Bay and Gulf counties.

About 2.9 million meals and more than 3.4 million liters of water have been delivered to Florida residents by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than 2,600 families and households have also registered for its individual disaster assistance program, according to a FEMA statement.

Agricultural damage could reach $2.8 billion in Georgia alone. Major losses are expected in Georgia’s cotton and timber industries, the Georgia Department of Agriculture told CNN. In Florida, were about 1 million acres of field crops were impacted by the hurricane, 90 percent of cotton crops and 40 percent of peanut crops are expected to be at risk, according to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

What’s next: Damage continues to be assessed and hundreds are still awaiting word from missing friends and relatives.

Reuters reported that officials in Florida have not yet given a number of how many are believed to be missing — a figure that continues to be difficult to assess with limited communication in some areas. But a private volunteer organization is working off some estimates.

The Houston-based online platform CrowdSource Rescue — which has been coordinating volunteer rescue missions in the region — told Reuters that they were searching for more than 1,135 people reported to be missing on Wednesday. By Thursday, CrowdSource reported the number of persons still unaccounted for to have dropped to 548. Matthew Marchetti, the platform’s co-founder, said they expect the number to continue to decrease by the weekend, as road conditions and cellphone signal improve.



Hurricane Michael damage: up to $3 billion in Georgia agricultural losses

“Unfortunately, our worst thoughts were realized,” Ag Commissioner Gary Black says

By Jennifer Brett


Damage from Hurricane Michael to Georgia’s agriculture industry could reach nearly $3 billion, according to new state assessments.

“These are generational losses that are unprecedented and it will take unprecedented ideas and actions to help our farm families and rural communities recover,” Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said in a statement.

Timber losses alone are estimated at $1 billion, as about 1 million acres were destroyed, state figures show. Cotton, peanuts, pecans, vegetables and poultry also were hit hard.

“Unfortunately, our worst thoughts were realized,” Black said. “We saw months and sometimes years of work just laid over on the ground in a matter of seconds. Georgia has long led in the production of several renowned commodities and now we have the dubious distinction of also leading in the devastation and incredible loss of these prominent crops.”

The issue is poised to become political amid the state’s tight and heated governor’s race. Republican candidate Brian Kemp, who was greeted with “Farmers For Kemp” signs on his tour of south and middle Georgia earlier this month, was heartily endorsed by Vice President Mike Pence during a tour of damaged areas this week. His campaign blasted Democrat candidate Stacey Abrams’ comment that “people shouldn’t have to go into agriculture or hospitality in Georgia to make a living in Georgia” during a campaign stop in Statesboro this week.

Abrams says knocks from the Kemp camp are evidence of her appeal throughout Georgia. “I believe the appropriate hip-hop term is, ‘They are shook,’” she told the cheering Statesboro crowd. “Because that’s why they’re saying crazy stuff all the time.”

None of the farmers The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to on Wednesday brought up politics at all. They’re too busy surveying damage and figuring out how to press on.

“This will probably put us out of business,” said Bainbridge farmer Eric Cohen. “Farming is the heartbeat of south Georgia. It’s not just us. It’s the guys selling guns, it’s the clothing stores, the jewelry stores. The timber industry, look what it’s going to do to it.”

Cohen has been farming for 18 years. He recalls the mess from Hurricane Kate, which hit the Florida Panhandle at Category 2 strength in 1985. He was 7 at the time and pitched in during the cleanup efforts in his father’s pecan orchards.

“It was the storm we always feared. I remember it vividly,” he said. “This one was 10 times worse.”

Greg Calhoun hasn’t been able to get to all of the acreage he farms in Miller, Decatur, Seminole, Baker and Early counties, but he knows it’s bad.

“This is not going to be a short-term fix. This is going to take years,” he said. His family has been farming for as long as he can remember. He cannot recall a storm so devastating.

“The only thing I’ve seen that would compare to this is maybe Puerto Rico, on TV,” he said, referring to Hurricane Maria. “Everything’s mangled up.”