Brandy Jessen helps recovering belongings from her mother鈥檚 house damaged by Hurricane Michael, in Mexico Beach, Florida, on October 13, 2018, three days after Hurricane Michael hit the area. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)
PANAMA CITY, US 鈥� Since Hurricane Michael roared through on Wednesday, a wide swath of Florida鈥檚 northwest coast has been without telephone or Internet service, adding to the daunting challenges facing residents, loved ones trying to reach them, and the work crews struggling to bring them relief.
鈥淲e have had some sites come back in service following the restoration of fiber links,鈥� cable operator Verizon said in a statement Friday. It has deployed five mobile cell sites with satellite connections 鈥渢o assist with recovery efforts鈥� while full service is restored.
But in Michael鈥檚 devastated wake, and with tens of thousands still without 聽electricity or electronic communications, those five sites have made only a modest dent.
A wide coastal zone between Panama City and the much smaller town of Mexico Beach, 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the southeast, remains cut off. 聽
In Mexico Beach, which suffered the full wrath of Michael鈥檚 intense winds and catastrophic storm surges, rescue teams have no choice but to rely on satellite phones. An emergency communications tower has been installed for their exclusive use.
The town has been placed on lockdown, with no one but residents allowed to enter. People arriving on the scene to check on friends or relatives or offer their assistance have been stopped at police blockades, unable to get through. 聽
鈥楨verything has shut down鈥�
The situation in Panama City varies 鈥� communications are better in the city鈥檚 western neighborhoods than in its east 鈥� and even there signals are patchy.
鈥淲e have no cell,鈥� said Mark Bateman, associate pastor of St. Andrew Baptist Church, in an unassuming western neighborhood. 鈥淎T&T and Verizon (the area鈥檚 two big telecom operators) don鈥檛 work.鈥�
鈥淲e have barely any way to communicate with our 鈥� 800 members,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome have evacuated, and we have been messaging back and forth with OnStar (the car-based emergency communication and navigation system). We also checked door-to-door in the neighborhood.鈥�
Two blocks away, Daniel Fraga, an electrician, said he has only an extremely weak and intermittent signal. To reassure family members who had evacuated to the neighboring state of Alabama, he turned to a friend with a stronger signal.
鈥淏asically everything has shut down,鈥� he said, adding that there are 鈥渢oo many people on the same service.鈥�
Neighbors helping neighbors
A neighbor, Twyla Williams, is surviving without running water along with her diabetic husband and her eldest son, a teenager. Other families had fled to Mississippi.
鈥淢y customers have been checking on me,鈥� said Williams, who works for an architectural blueprint firm.
鈥淥ne of them just pulled up to give us Gatorade, water, some food.鈥�
But with no Verizon signal, she said she used another carrier to log onto Facebook and let relatives know her family was safe.
The city鈥檚 emergency services say they have received thousands of calls from people desperate for news of loved ones. But they too are struggling with little or no service.
At nearby Tyndall Air Force Base, on the coast between Panama City and Mexico Beach, the army has set up a dedicated website for those 鈥渨ho are worried about someone.鈥�
Tyndall, which itself suffered serious damage both to its facilities and to warplanes parked on its tarmac, is forwarding requests to local agencies.