Ground zero: See the damage Hurricane Michael inflicted on Mexico Beach

Tampa Bay Hurricane Guide

Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach on Wednesday afternoon, devastating the coastal town as it lashed the Florida Panhandle. These photos were taken early Thursday morning. [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times]

Published: October 11, 2018

Updated: October 11, 2018 at 11:28 PM

MEXICO BEACH — Fires burn with no one to put them out. Cars and trucks stacked like toys. Stairs lead to houses that no longer exist. Trees bent over, as if trying to run from something.

Hurricane Michael slammed into North Florida on Wednesday with historic fury. The Category 4 storm is the most powerful storm on record to strike the Panhandle, blasting it with storm surge up to 10 feet and 155-mph winds — just two miles shy of Category 5 strength.

But one of the communities hit hardest was Mexico Beach, a town of about 1,100 near where the monster storm first made landfall.

The coastal village was struck by the notorious front right quadrant of the storm’s eye, and it showed.

TAMPA BAY TIMES COVERAGE: HURRICANE MICHAEL

DAY ONE: Hurricane Michael thrashes Florida Panhandle with historic fury

DAY TWO: ‘There are no words.’ At least six dead as rescue crews search through Hurricane Michael’s wrath

MEXICO BEACH: ‘We’re broken here.’ Mexico Beach reels in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael

FOUR REASONS: Learn why Hurricane Michael was so devastating

30 IMAGES: The Times eyewitness account to damage inflicted by Hurricane Michael after landfall

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Hurricane Michael’s devastating trek through the Florida Panhandle

INTERACTIVE: Track Hurricane Michael flooding in real time

The storm rendered the community near impassable. U.S. 98 was covered with shattered trees and debris. But a Tampa Bay Times reporter and photojournalist found a way into the devastated town in the early Thursday darkness.

This is what they saw:

Homes were completely destroyed. Refrigerators and toilets lay where the storm left them. The storm chewed up and spit out thousands of two-by-fours. Staircases led to doors 10 feet in the air with nothing left on the other side.

The neighborhoods along U.S. 98 looked like a child’s playroom after a massive tantrum. Homes looked like doll houses, one side exposed to the elements. Soggy piles of furniture were pushed against the back walls.

Some residents tried to ride the storm out. A woman and man were looking for help with their mother’s portable oxygen concentrator machine. A man shone a flashlight from a balcony. The town was rendered dark, saved for the fires, and silent, save for sporadic alarms.

One building burned to the ground. The sizzle of burning woods can be heard from the road, even over the waves crashing onto shore across the street.

Contact Zachary T. Sampson at [email protected] Follow @ZackSampson.

When hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach is forecasting a storm he relies heavily on two factors: water temperature and wind shear.Warm waters can feed a storm system, causing it to build in strength as it nears land. But a high velocity of wind shear ca...

Hurricane Michael didn’t give Floridians much time to brace for its devastating impact. Just a few days before it made landfall Wednesday afternoon near the Florida Panhandle’s Mexico Beach, the storm was a loosely organized system just north of Hond...

MEXICO BEACH — Walking around his shattered beachfront town, Mayor Al Cathey repeated the stunned refrain of many residents along the sleepy Florida coast: We didn’t know it would be this bad.On Thursday, dawn broke over total wreckage. Splintered wo...

MEXICO BEACH — Fires burn with no one to put them out. Cars and trucks stacked like toys. Stairs lead to houses that no longer exist. Trees bent over, as if trying to run from something.Hurricane Michael slammed into North Florida on Wednesday with h...

TALLAHASSEE — At least four people are dead in Florida from Hurricane Michael, authorities confirmed Thursday evening, as search-and-rescue crews made their first pass through the dangerous and extensive wreckage left behind by the most powerful stor...

PANAMA CITY — The marina once hosted a morning coffee club, rented fishing rods to families and was home to a tight-knit community of sailors and boaters.Nothing remained standing, or floating upright, in the destructive wake of Hurricane Michael. Bo...

The most powerful hurricane on record to hit Florida's Panhandle left wide destruction and at least two people dead and wasn't nearly finished Thursday as it crossed Georgia, now as a tropical storm,

CEDAR KEY — The wind whipped through Dock Street on Wednesday evening and water lapped at the bottom of restaurant decks that overhang the Gulf of Mexico. Seawater shimmered on the low streets; on higher ground, ocean gunk marked where the storm surg...

PANAMA CITY — Hurricane Michael, the most powerful storm on record to reach Florida’s Panhandle, began its terrifying tear through Big Bend coastal communities shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday.First came the shrieking winds, at maximum speeds of 155 m...

Published: 10/10/18

Updated: 10/11/18

PANAMA CITY, Florida — Authorities say a Florida Panhandle man was killed by a falling tree as Hurricane Michael tore through the state.Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anglie Hightower says they received a call around 6 p.m. Wednesday, sa...

The latest weather to start your day

Stay on top of tropical weather with the TBO hurricane guide. Get county-by-county emergency information, evacuation maps and shelter locations; track the storms; and read our tips on how to best prepare for the storm.

Sumber: https://bit.ly/2QNmwv0