Hurricane Michael death toll rises to possibly 19 in Florida

Jim Little | Pensacola News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Drone video shows Panama City in ruins after Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael ravaged Panama City, Florida. Aerial views of the aftermath show the massive scale of destruction.

Three more bodies have been recovered in Bay County, bringing the toll of fatalities in that single county to 15.

Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford updated the toll Wednesday morning, after the medical examiner's office was able to officially confirm the deaths were caused by Hurricane Michael.

Seven days after Hurricane Michael made landfall in Bay County, search and rescue operations were continuing and the death toll was rising, growing to a possible 19 fatalities in Florida alone and 10 more in three other states.

Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford had confirmed Tuesday morning that the number of dead from the storm in Bay County had risen to 12 at that time. Like Wednesday's announcement, Ford was not able to say where in the county those deaths occurred.

"That is certainly a tragedy and our hearts go out to the families that lost love ones in that," Ford said.

Gulf County Sheriff's Department reported on Wednesday a single death as a direct result of the hurricane.

Law enforcement used an airboat to recover the body of 70-year-old Bill McConnell, who was discovered near his home on State Road 30A. His truck was discovered in a marsh behind his home, still in the "on" position. His body was found nearby.

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Search and rescue teams had finished their first round of searches and were starting their second round in the hard-hit cities of Panama City, Callaway, Lynn Haven and Mexico Beach, Ford said.

The medical examiner’s office was a hub of activity Tuesday afternoon, with National Guard troops stationed outside ready to assist. A fuel truck outside was refueling the generator to ensure power remained throughout the building.

Dr. Jay Radtke, medical examiner for Florida's 14th Judicial Circuit which covers Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties, said Tuesday afternoon he could not release any numbers from the other counties because confirmation of them being related to the storm was still pending.

He also added that communications issues have hampered information coming in from other counties.

"As far as deaths, Bay County has been the worst," Radtke said.

Bay County is only releasing the number of deaths through the local medical examiner's office once the cause of death has officially been connected to the storm.

Ford said he believes the low death count — considering the total devastation of so many areas — is one reason why everyone he's talked to in the county seems to be grateful, despite the damage. Approximately 2,544 building suffered damage in the county, with 669 listed as “structure failures and 162 structures destroyed.

"The death toll of this storm, when looking at the damage that we've seen out there, it could've easily been in the hundreds," Ford said.

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Numbers on the dead or missing from Michael have been slow to come out as communications in the hardest hit areas remain tough.

Bay County Manager Bob Majka said Tuesday morning that the number of cases of people unaccounted for had been lowered from more than 300 at its peak to six by Monday afternoon.

Ford said Tuesday after the press conference that he could not give out an accurate number of missing people.

"One thing that's hampering our ability to get an accurate number on that is communications," Ford said. "No one has communications with one another. It's a very difficult situation with that."

Gov. Rick Scott, for instance, continues to stick by an official death toll in Florida of just two people. Several hours after the Lynn Haven press conference in which Bay County officials detailed the 12 deaths, Scott gave his own press conference outside the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office.

“We have two confirmed deaths,” Scott said. “And it looks like we’ll have more.”

Prior to Tuesday morning when the death toll in Bay County rose from four to 12, the death toll from Hurricane Michael stood at eight in Florida, three in North Carolina, one in Georgia and six in Virginia. The fatalities announced Wednesday potentially puts the tally at 19 fatalities in Florida alone, bringing a possible total death toll from Michael to at least 29.

Hard to communicate

Search and rescue task forces in all of the counties impacted by Hurricane Michael have so far identified 15,876 single residences that have been damaged and 4,240 single residences that have been destroyed. Rescuers have evacuated 1,602 people to temporary shelters and have confirmed that 16,678 people are safe to shelter in place, according to the latest official reports.

Majka said communications have also made it difficult to get word out to where supplies are for people stuck in their damaged homes without food or water.

"We're literally back to having to communicate face-to-face about the status of resources and what's going on," Majka said. "So the lag hasn't been in resources getting on the ground. The lag has been our community to communicate that they're here."

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Small single-engine planes that normally carry banners with advertisements for beach restaurant are now taking to the air over Panama City to get out the message about relief, encouraging people to dial 211 for information.

Several distribution points had been set up throughout the county, including one at the Lynn Haven Walmart where on Monday 60 high school students from Heritage Academy in Monterey, Tennessee, were handing out supplies.

The lack of communications has led to rampant rumors that places like the hospitals and schools will not reopen, but Panama City Mayor Greg Brudnicki said at the press conference that none of them our true.

Bay Medical Sacred Heart's emergency room was already open Tuesday and taking patients, Brudnicki said, adding that the city is working with the county school district to reopen schools within a month.

"There's no reason to leave," Brudnicki said. "There's no reason to think we're not going to come out of this because we are. Please be patient, we're doing everything we can to make our place safe, and we will make Panama City great again."

In nearby Mexico Beach, which was the epicenter of the hurricane damage, residents received word Monday that they could begin to return home to survey the damage.

Since Hurricane Michael made landfall Wednesday, most of Mexico Beach was off limits to all but residents and first responders, as a door-to-door search was underway by two-person teams with dogs.

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.



