Posted on October 13, 2021
BAY COUNTY — For Mexico Beach Mayor Al Cathey, the days leading up to Oct. 10, 2018, were just like any normal storm preparation — gather names of who is staying, board up windows and lock down loose items around town.
In the small coastal town with a little more than 1,300 people, Cathey said they absolutely had no idea what was coming for them.
“It was one of the worst days of my life,” Cathey said, on seeing the damage afterward. “I saw a half of dozen people on my walk through town and it was just disbelief. And they would ask me things like ‘What are we going to do?’ I didn’t know what we were going to do.”
Three years ago today, Hurricane Michael roared ashore in Bay County with close to 160 mph winds and a storm surge recorded up to 14 feet, devastating every city in the county and much of the eastern Panhandle.
Mexico Beach saw four fatalities, damage to 80% of the buildings in the town and extensive damage to its power grid and water systems.
“It took 48 hours for me to grasp what I was dealing with,” Cathey said. “From there, it was nothing more than seeing people. I walked the streets and said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’”
Total destruction in Panama City
Panama City City Manager Mark McQueen echoed Cathey’s feelings on the damage the storm left, saying he was shocked at something that was “nothing interesting” less than 48 hours before could dole out such destruction within a short amount of time.
McQueen was taking refuge in the city police department headquarters and had come out to see a scene he described as basically a “war zone.”
“There were vehicles flipped over, there were trains on their side, there were powerlines everywhere, debris everywhere, roofs blown off their structures,” McQueen said. “It was almost impossible to get through the city and it was total destruction.”
According to a Federal Emergency Management Agency report, 90% of the structures in Panama City were damaged or destroyed and the city collected 5.7 million cubic yards of debris. Panama City alone collected more debris than the affected 50 counties combined for Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Panama City also had a complete loss of power, sewer and water service and had to evacuate 500 hospital patients from Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center.
However, McQueen said the citizens were heroes and that the community came together to help one another after going through such a tragic event.
“Our citizens emerged and showed their resilience, their determination, their resolve, their perseverance,” McQueen said. “And the attitude of neighbors helping neighbors.”
Michael left the communities in utter ruin and the need to rebuild from the ground up.
Bay County on the mend
In the three years since, the county has made major progress with new buildings, new infrastructure and best of all — a new sense of community.
Mexico Beach was committed to restoring the small-town community it has had since the town’s origins in 1950. Cathey said residents voiced their opinions on maintaining their community.
“The spirit and energy of our town is remarkable,” Cathey said. “People are so excited about who we are and about wanting to return to our pace of life, our quality of life that’s part of Mexico Beach.”
Mexico Beach has received about $110 million in FEMA aid and Cathey said the progress has been remarkable. The town has a brand-new power grid, a new sewer line, a beach nourishment program implemented, and 260 building permits issued.
However, the city has a ways to go since it still does not have a grocery store and is trying to bring back all its mom-and-pop shops. But overall, Cathey is excited and said residents are happy with how far the town has come.
“At three years, I’m very pleased at where we are,” Cathey said. “Our town looks good; we look like we are making good headway.”
Panama City has received $400 million to help rebuild the city. The city has begun upgrading and replacing its aging water and sewer system. The city has more than 134,000 permits pulled to rebuild houses and commercial structures. Also, the city’s number of businesses has grown by 67% since the storm.
At the same time, Panama City has recovered a large part of the population that left during and after the hurricane.
“We had 36,000 citizens the day before the storm and we lost about 8,000 to 10,000 after the storm,” McQueen said. “With the census that came out last year, we’re back up to 33,000.”
McQueen said he is pleased with the route Panama City is taking to becoming a premier city and how the citizens have played a part in their progress.
“We’re united in our vision, we went through an exhausting envisioning process for the city after the storm,” McQueen said. “We now have adopted the neighborhood plans for a portion of our city and that portion is underway.”
Cathey said he still remembers the acts of kindness he was shown during the weeks after the hurricane.
One moment sticks out to him where he came home to find a large brown envelope waiting for him and inside was something he did not expect — a piece of purple fabric with painted handprints covering it. Also, there was a handwritten message detailing that it was sent from the Christian Arts Foundation in New York City and a simple sentence that meant the world.
“Know that people in New York are thinking of you, hope this makes you feel better.”
The item is still displayed in city hall, where Cathey can be reminded of the gesture he received 10 days after tragedy.
“Now I don’t know anybody in New York, but I know it made me feel better to open that,” Cathey said. “I thought, ‘my goodness, there is somebody.’”
