by Kathy Foster
“The spirit of Washington County citizens proved to be stronger than the challenges presented by Hurricane Michael. The compassion and generosity shown by the community as a whole in the days following the storm is a testament to the resiliency of Washington County,” said Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator Connie Welch as she addressed members of the Chipley Kiwanis Club on Tuesday.
Welch said in-county crop damages as of Oct. 24, 2018 were as follows:
- 85% of all cotton crops were lost
- 50% of all peanut crops were lost
- 100% of all timber crops were lost
Pointing out that Hurricane Michael made landfall just short of the Category 5 event on Oct. 24th last year, Welch said Washington County’s elected officials and staff members worked together prior to the storm to see that everything possible was done to protect county residents and provide shelter for those in need and to keep county residents abreast of what was coming.
Welch said Hurricane Michael went from a Category 1 to a Category 4+ storm relatively quickly and the Board of County Commissioners closed down activities. However, immediately following the passing of the strongest winds and most of the tropical storm force winds, emergency personnel went out to assess the situation and quickly found so many trees down they could not exit their office areas by vehicles for about 24 hours.
Welch reported that there were approximately 230 persons in the General Population Shelter, 64 in the Special Needs Shelter, and 20 in the Vernon Last Resort Shelter. She said by Oct. 18th that number had dropped to 34 clients in the shelter opened at the First Baptist Church in Chipley.
Welch said the work done by the EOC Management Teams, National Guard, FEMA, American Red Cross, and emergency response personnel (law enforcement teams, EMS teams and STRIKE teams from all across the county) played a major role in Washington County’s recovery and meeting the needs of the county residents.
Crediting an outpouring of support from county residents in the recovery efforts, Welch said recovery and debris pickup is still ongoing and will be for some time.
If you have any questions about debris pickup in your area of Washington County, call 850-703-3414.