Free Republic

MEXICO BEACH, Fla. One family returning to their home following Michael found whole walls missing and part of their roof blown off. Marla Wood is an accountant from Atlanta. Her vacation home, close to loved ones, is nestled just across from the ocean on Highway 98 in Mexico Beach. Her husband’s family owns the Driftwood Inn, which was wiped out, but Marla’s mother-in-law’s bible was unscathed! It was one of the few things Hurricane Michael didn’t destroy. Marla was on the internet back in Geogia before getting the car to drive to Florida. She had a five-hour drive to brace...

Looting lead to a deadly shooting overnight in Panama City. Witness Landon Swett said a man tried to steal a police car. "He yelled at me a little bit. He said, oh I’m looting and he opened the door to the police officer’s SUV with the lights going, got in it and shut the door,” said Swett. That's when Swett took his family to safety. Moments later, shots were fired.

Great and yet horrible photos of Michael.....I fear that the death toll will be truly tragic.... Are there any Freepers that need help currently??

The worst of Hurricane Michael’s remnants were supposed to track south of tiny Charlotte County in southern Virginia, but a desperate 911 call Thursday night told a different story: A car had been washed away in a torrential flash flood. When sheriff’s deputies raced to the scene on Mount Harmony Road after 11 p.m., county administrator Daniel Witt said they heard the screams of a 17-year-old boy clinging to a guardrail. The sheriff’s deputies and some bystanders linked arms and waded into the raging water, before tossing the teen a rope. He was pulled to safety, but his father and...

TALLAHASSEE The oldest and largest psychiatric hospital in Florida was left inaccessible as Hurricane Michael carved its path across the Panhandle, knocking out power and ripping buildings to shreds. The storm’s eyewall passed right over the town of Chattahoochee, leaving it and the hospital “entirely cut off,” state emergency officials said Thursday. The hospital was not evacuated ahead of the storm. Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, which had about 975 residents and about 325 staff staying inside, was left with only emergency radios as a means to communicate with first responders. The hospital had backup power and water systems that...

America the Beautiful sings of "purple mountain majesties," but after deadly Hurricane Michael passed through Florida's panhandle, it was the skies that turned an eerie purple.... Reporters and residents shared images of post-storm skies ranging from a light lavender to a deep violet, and it turns out there's a scientific explanation for the unusual hues.

“Victims of Hurricane Michael voted for climate deniers,” reads the headline an article by Abraham, published in The Guardian Thursday. “Elections have consequences. Denying science has consequences. And we are reaping what we sow,” the subhead reads. . . . Despite the lack of science to support for his case, Abraham blames Michael’s intensity on man-made global warming, leading to his subsequent claim that southern voters brought this upon themselves by voting Republicans into office.

***NOT FOR BROADCAST*** Contact Brett Adair with Live Storms Media to license. brett@livestormsnow.com Extreme damage to Tyndall AFB after Hurricane Michael shot from Helicopter.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. The devastation inflicted by Hurricane Michael came into focus Thursday with rows upon rows of homes found smashed to pieces, and rescue crews began making their way into the stricken areas in hopes of accounting for hundreds of people who may have defied evacuation orders. At least two deaths were blamed on Michael, the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in over 50 years, and it wasn't done yet: Though reduced to a tropical storm, it brought flash flooding to North Carolina and Virginia, soaking areas still recovering from Hurricane Florence. Under a perfectly clear...

Residents of the Florida Panhandle began taking in scenes of destruction Wednesday night, hours after Hurricane Michael slammed into the coast with a fury that ranked it among the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States. “It’s all gone,” Deep Patel, 24, said as he stared at the remains of his duplex bedroom in Panama City, near where Michael made landfall as a Category 4 storm in the afternoon, packing winds of 155 mph. Most of the wooden rafters had been ripped off, exposing an upturned mattress. A bathtub landed a few houses away in a neighbor’s yard....

A big drop in stock prices yesterday with the Dow Jones going down 3 percent in value and NASDAQ even more at 4 percent. Asian markets in Japan and Hong Kong also fell overnight and in Europe today there were also declines.... Two are reported dead after Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia.... An emergency landing this morning in Kazakhstan for an American and a Russian astronaut headed for the international space station.... President Trump stumped for Republicans at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania last night..... President Trump says that the United States is demanding answers...

Waffle House restaurants don’t close unless absolutely necessary — so the shuttering of 18 Florida locations ahead of Hurricane Michael speaks volumes about the severity of the storm.“We have closed these restaurants yesterday so our employees can be safe as Hurricane Michael comes on shore,” Waffle House spokesperson Pat Warner confirmed to Fox News.“We have staged people and resources outside of the strike zone to come into the area after the storm passes. We will assess the damage and begin to reopen the restaurants as soon as it is safe to do so.”Warner told USA Today he expected more to...

Major Hurricane Michael is churning toward the northeastern Gulf of Mexico coast. Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Monday for 35 counties with mandatory coastal evacuations in the FL Panhandle. 1,250 National Guard troops are aiding the process and more than 4,000 more placed on standby. FEMA is already on the ground in Florida; other federal agencies are also preparing to assist people in the storm's path. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday declared a state of emergency for the entire state. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal issued a state of emergency for 92 counties ahead of Hurricane...

Florida Democrats are calling for state officials to extend the voter registration deadline as Hurricane Michael approaches. Florida Democratic Party Chairman Terrie Rizzo sent a formal letter to Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Secretary of State Ken Detzner on Monday requesting that they push back the deadline as Floridians prepare for the storm. Tuesday is the state's deadline for eligible individuals to vote ahead of November’s elections, but the impending hurricane will “adversely impact the ability of these eligible, but unregistered individuals who may have waited until the last day in order to register to vote,” Rizzo wrote. Scott has...

In the exact spot where Hurricane Katrina demolished the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, a new $105 million jail now hovers 19 feet above the marsh, perched atop towering concrete pillars. Described by a state official as the “Taj Mahal” of Louisiana corrections, it has so much space that one of every 27 parish residents could bunk there. But on an average day in the first half of this year, more than 40 percent of its 872 beds went unoccupied, making it one of the emptiest jails in the state, records show. And because of its isolated, flood-prone location, the jail...

Last year 'Tropical Depression Harvey' rapidly intensified into a Category 1 Hurricane. Current forecasts have the Tropical System becoming a Hurricane and making landfall about 7 PM Wednesday, 10-Oct-2018. Landfall would be near Alligator Point - Baldwin Point State Park - St. Teresa - Port Leon. It is too early to forecast the exact landfall. However, it appears that Gainesville (U of Florida) and Tallahassee (Florida State) may be affected. These locations are inland. Current forecasts are for sustained winds in the neighborhood of 100 mph.

Tropical Storm Mitchell: The NHC has issued a Public Advisory Update indicating Tropical Storm Mitchell has formed about 90 miles South of Cozumel, Mexico. Current forecast predicts Mitchell will reach hurricane strength in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in the Northern GOM. Landfall is estimated by 96 hours. Gulf of Mexico Satellite ChannelsPublic AdvisoriesNHC Discussions NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Key West FLNHC Local Weather Statements/Radar New Orleans, LANHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Mobile AL/Pensacola FLNHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Panama City, FLNHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Tallahassee, FLNHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Tampa Bay, FL

National Hurricane Center is forecasting the possibility of a Hurricane in the NE Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday or Wednesday. It would be Hurricane Michael. Landfill is uncertain, but appears to be headed toward Florida Panhandle/Alabama Coasts.

North Carolina resident Tammie Hedges had the impertinence to rescue 27 cats and dogs during Hurricane Florence. Providing round-the-clock care in a makeshift shelter, she provided safety from the storm, food, and medication to those sick or in pain. Apparently Hedges, who runs a non-profit animal rescue organization that relies on foster homes, didn't realize that such a display of humanity and compassion in the midst of an emergency is not the kind of thing the state takes lightly. Common sense and kindness: out. Bureaucratic fools: in. After the worst of the storm passed, Hedges handed the animals over to...

WALLACE, N.C. (WNCN) - - It's no secret that Interstate 40 between Raleigh and Wilmington has been covered with floodwaters since Hurricane Florence hit. But, crews got a surprise Saturday when they went to areas where the waters had receded and found -- a highway covered in dead fish. The Penderlea Fire Department had to hose down a stretch of I-40 on Saturday because of what appeared to be hundreds of dead fish that were left behind by the flooding. "Well, we can add 'washing fish off of the interstate' to the long list of interesting things firefighters get to...