Jackson County still recovering from Hurricane Michael

JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael unleashed its destructive winds on Jackson County.

“Well, it was really unbelievable to me, the devastation after the storm,” Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners Jim Peacock said.

“Personally, it was a very trying experience,” County Administrator Wilanne Daniels said. “Then professionally, from the county’s perspective and all we were responsible for immediately after, it was a very very trying time.”

After the initial shock of the destruction the hurricane caused, officials say they had to ask themselves a few hard questions and get to work putting the county back together.

Now, three years later, county officials say they believe the county has made great progress.

“As far as county buildings and parks, we’re almost completely restored,” Daniels said.

However, Peacock says there are a few specific areas that will take a little longer to restore.

“If you’re looking at the trees, 50 to 100 years,” Peacocks said. “I mean, I will never see the trees back the way they were before Hurricane Michael. I mean, I won’t live that long.”

Although Hurricane Michael negatively impacted the county, officials say there was one good thing that came out of the storm.

“I remember how everyone just sort of came together,” Daniels remembered. “I don’t remember there being really any crosswords or any really strife among people for those first several weeks and months. It really was just a unified front.”

The remnants of Hurricane Michael can still be seen in some parts of the county, but officials want to remind residents, recovering from a storm is a marathon, not a sprint.

Copyright 2021 WJHG. All rights reserved.