 |
| Damaged Home, Mexico Beach |
Beautiful
Beaches/Toppled Towns
After spending three weeks traveling through 17 states and
visiting family and friends in 7 of those states, we recently entered the 18th
state on our winter break—Florida, for some fun and sun. We are currently staying in Apalachicola, the
‘Oyster Capital of the World’. We’re not
sure if that claim is still valid, however, since the oyster industry has been
degraded in the last several years by approximately 85%. Decades of water wars with Georgia has lowered levels and
increased Apalachicola bay’s salinity. Climate
change has brought more storms, including Hurricane Michael, and the
Apalachicola river has fallen victim to oil spills and sewage. Tomorrow, we are
visiting the Estaurine Research Center, so we will likely have a better idea of
the current status of the oyster industry.
In the meantime, today we spent a sobering morning viewing
the devastation that Hurricane Michael wrought in and around Mexico Beach this
past October. It was the most intense hurricane ever recorded, the most intense
hurricane to hit the United States, the most expensive and deadly hurricane
ever, and the largest hurricane in diameter. The first
hint of destruction was the trees. Millions
of them, mostly pine trees, were either all bent in the same direction or
snapped off at the same level. Some were
bent or snapped north to south, others east to west, and the rest south to north. It all depended on which direction the
cyclonic winds hit them.
After seeing the tree damage, we soon started passing
through small towns where many homes were draped with those ubiquitous blue
tarps while waiting for new roofs. Piles
of debris from homes and trees were piled up near the streets hoping to be
collected by the authorities.
The ultimate in destruction, however, was in Mexico Beach
and the area surrounding it, including Tyndall AFB. Words are hard to come by when you see
peoples’ homes destroyed and their lives turned upside down. It’s only been about 4 months since the
hurricane. Many dwellings are still in
their post hurricane state waiting for insurance claims to be processed and for
demolition and rebuilding to take place.
We decided to take photos so that we could share with you our
observations. As a final footnote, the worst damage appears to be with dwellings either on the barrier islands or very close to the beach. Why oh why are people still building homes in these precarious locations?
