Hurricane Michael, reportedly the strongest storm to hit the US, made landfall at Mexico Beach, FL. Mexico Beach is approximately 50 miles from Pinnacle Port Condos at Carillon Beach. The storm wreaked havoc on the entire area from Mexico Beach to Panama City Beach to the west and miles to the east and north; however the severe damage started 10 miles east of Pinnacle Port and got worse as it traveled east. Pinnacle Port suffered very little damage. At Pinnacle Port, there was no power or water for four days and tv, phones and internet are still out. The fiber lines that were not underground were severely damaged and with no current estimate as to when service will return. Bay County still has a boil water policy and a curfew from 6:30 PM to 6:30 AM to control looting and prevent issues in areas where roads have not been cleared. Until the phones in the elevators are working at Pinnacle Port, guests should not plan to return.
Both hospitals in Panama City were destroyed and patients moved to Pensacola and other areas. Temporary hospitals have been set up with limited services mostly for emergencies. The restaurants and grocery stores are attempting to reopen but with the long power outage and needs from those who lost everything; until they can be restocked, items will be in short supply. The biggest issue is a gas shortage in the area. Lines at the gas stations and grocery stores can be up to three hours long. Even cell phone service is very sporatic as so many of the cell towers were destroyed or severely damaged.
All of Pinnacle Port’s employees have some damage, most had severe damage and at least two lost everything. GoFundMe pages have been set up (Pinnacle-port-employees-hurricane) to help the employees get their lives back in order while most are working to help get Pinnacle Port Condos back up and running. We also set up a GoFundMe page for our housekeeper as her house in Callaway was badly damaged and is not livable. If you wish to donate directly to her fund, it is on GoFundMe as Julie-Michael Victim. Since her neighborhood was almost wiped out, any funds not needed by her will be passed on to her neighbors.
As Pinnacle Port owners, we realize how truly blessed we are with very little damage and we are doing all we can to help victims of the storm. Pray for everyone involved as many lost loved ones and so many lost almost evertyhing.
God bless!
Photo with flag is from Panama City not Pinnacle Port
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