Page 267 - Elevation News Today

Time ago. were still getting some gusts of wind, still getting some power lines shaking here. we did hear some transformers blow here earlier today. so its still, you know, a pretty dicey situation here with damage assessments, with storm surge also. storm surge is still going to be an issue here, because they expected it may be to get up to 13 feet in some areas. the city officials here say that they are pretty pleased with their level of elevation, which might protect them from some of the sto...

Has gotten worse. tell us what you are seeing. >> reporter: jim, the conditions continue to deteriorate. we expect that to happen for the next several hours. what is amazing when we arrived an hour and a half ago it was calm. it is amazing after covering hurricanes you think it is not as bad as expected. the bands move in and you realize you are in for a nightmare scenario. that is what people are going to experience in this part of the florida panhandle. this particular part of town, shell poin...

The monstrous category four storm. that means 140 miles an hour, winds and up, would be the most powerful hurricane to hit this area of the state of florida in history. >> it is incredible. right now winds topping 145 miles an hour. they are, if you can believe it, expected to get stronger before making land fall. in just a few hours lets go to our colleague in shell point beach, florida. gary, we can see the wind whipping you right now. what have you felt and what is expected? >> well, poppy an...

Very honest, when these big gusts come, just on your skin for a little bit. and its odd, because its really warm outside, but it feels cold, as that wind comes through right here. it really does chill you down. ive got a really good grip on how im standing right here. but if you can see, again, the best thing i can point to are the trees, im trying to turn my face away from the wind here, just to avoid it getting into my eyes and my contact lenses. but if you watch this, it is just skirting acro...

So it certainly is deteriorating rapidly here, the weather. >> your city has been under evacuation order since yesterday morning. did everyone get out? >> no. our community. we have about 1,200 residents. as of this morning, i spoke to the chief and we still have in town about 280 people that did not sign out. not everyone left. and we are just hoping for the best here. >> hoping for the best is a scary proposition when we are talking about the potential of 13 foot storm surge. the worst could b...

Down, transformers have blown all over the place here. were not even talking yet about storm surge because it could still be a factor here. were in a low-lying area, this could get up to 11 to 13 feet of storm surge. well see if it gets to that point here in panama city beach. they are pleased with their level of elevation. but as weve been talking about all day, this area has not seen a storm like this in a hundred years. its already starting to get violent. that beach area, those waves, were r...

This is too dangerous of an area to operate outside of this fire department. this community has a year round population of about 350 people. down the road about half a mile is the gulf of mexico. we were close the last time we talked to you. all of this, the water started rushing up the street. we moved our vehicles to this fire department which has been evacuated also. it gives you an idea of the area because the elevation is very low and only ten feet. the storm surge could be up to 14 feet an...

But this city and this county of franklin which has 12,000 mandatory evacuation in the entire county. one of the problems with this is city right here, its kind of a peninsula. the only way off are two long bridges over a bay. the feeling is with an elevation of 13 feet and potential storm surge up 14 feet, this city could be underwater by there time tomorrow. people have taken heed of the warnings. most people are gone. a mandatory evacuation. like miguel, this is a ghost town. people are very ...

Homes. the homes that are on the bay, and, you know, theres probably a couple thousand homes alodge the way, and those are in danger. most will be in elevation at eight or nine and they are right at the cusp where the storm surge would be. >> reporter: i woke up to category 4 storm and getting stronger. can the buildings here with stand that? we are talking about 145-mile-per-hour winds? >> some of the older buildings here, including my own condo has endured every storm since 1969, and its true ...

All of the vehicles have been moved to the highest point in the parking lot. frequent county on the southern tip of the big bend of florida is so low-lying, most of the counties under 15 feet of elevation. the whole county is under a mandatory evacuation. clearly, we saw plenty of people yesterday. a lot of people did evacuate, by far, not everybody. its supposed to get possibly nine to 13 feet storm surge. take a look at whats over here. this is the apalachicola river. you can see the waves goi...