Impacts from Hurricane Michael felt here at home

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Hurricane Michael crashed into the Florida panhandle Wednesday afternoon as a devastating Category 4 storm.

As its path became clear, thousands of people were rushing to either stock their homes with supplies, or shore them up against the damage that was sure to come.

Milport, Alabama resident, Barry Wilson, owns two beach houses in Panama City and was one of the many who was scrambling.

“We go down and put plywood over the windows,” said Wilson. “We put storm shutters down on one of the houses and it had built in hurricane shutters on it. Whatever we could strap down, whatever we needed to move out of the wind we moved. We just took precautions the best we knew how.”

Although some were able to board up, others, like Starkville resident Jamie Methvin, weren’t so lucky.

Methvin owns a town home in Destin.

“We really can’t keep it safe. There’s really no way at this point to do anything,” said Methvin.

Her only hope was the man renting her house.

“We started having the conversation like Sunday night or Monday just about what to do, what to pull inside, what to do with the golf cart, that sort of thing,” said Methvin.

But when he didn’t inform Methvin until yesterday that he was leaving, most of those precautions went out the door.

“The few little things we might would’ve had him do, it was too late at that point,” said Methvin.

While property damage is on the minds of Methvin and Wilson the fate of their neighbors is on their hearts.

“The main thing is we’ve got a house to stay in tonight and some people won’t,” said Wilson. “So we’re worried about those people that are actually losing their home you know we’re losing property possibly but at least we’re going to have a place to lay down tonight and sleep.”