Some of Florida’s Gulf Coast residents who saw the worst of Hurricane Michael‘s wrath are still living in tents and are without electricity, despite relief workers’ best efforts.
Those living in Panama City, Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe were hit the hardest, The Guardian reported, and are still in ruin some two weeks since Michael rolled through. The piles of debris that were once homes are the only remnants the communities have of their houses, forcing people to live in tents, campers or even surviving boats while they figure out their next move.
Ready-to-eat food provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are their meals and free-standing Porta Potties are their bathrooms, but the modern-day amenities most Americans wouldn’t dream of living without — electricity, gas and the Internet — might not return for months.
Maintenance and service vehicles can’t get past the tree and refuse-covered roads leading to the neighborhoods, but those loyal to the area haven’t jumped ship yet.
“We’re all determined,” Mexico Beach citizen Gayle Blackmon told the news site. “We’re absolutely going to build it back.”
The category four storm that hit the Panhandle region earlier this month claimed the lives of at least 39 people and brought with it an enormous storm surge and 150 mile-per-hour winds.
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