On October 10, 2018, Panama City was struck by a category 4 hurricane, Micheal. With sustained winds of almost 90 mph and gusts of over 120 mph, the storm devastated the area. 47 Floridians lost their lives to the storm, 3 million acres of timber were leveled and property losses are over 5 billion dollars.
The majority of buildings in Panama City were built prior to the more stringent building codes implemented after Hurricane Andrew devasted southern Florida in 1992. We also enjoyed an abundance of trees throughout our neighborhoods and unfortunately, the wind and rain caused the majority of them to fall or break and many wound up damaging homes and buildings.
The Round Tree Pottery workshop avoided direct damage but an attached carport cover was pushed over. It took almost a week for electricity and two weeks for water service to be restored to the area. Piles of debris mostly consisting of trees are still in abundance along many roads.
We are blessed that the loss of lives and property damage was not worse and we pray that we won’t have to deal with another hurricane of that magnitude ever again.