William Bane and his family are native West Virginians who lived in Princeton from 1998 until May 2017. Bane said Tuesday that the family moved down to Panama City, Fla., a coastal city on the Florida panhandle so he could take a new job. Speaking on his cellphone, he told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph about Oct. 10, the day a great force of nature dubbed Hurricane Michael hit his new home.
He pulled off along the side of a road when he received the call.
“It looks like they just came in and bombed this place,” Bane said. Phone and power lines were down, debris was everywhere, and looting has been a problem to the point where many homeowners sleep with guns at hand. Bane put a “You Loot, We Shoot” sign on his home. A 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew is in effect, and people found outside are subject to arrest.
When Panama City residents heard the first Hurricane Michael weather reports, the storm didn’t sound that bad, Bane recalled. At first, it was a tropical depression in Mexico.
“They did not anticipate it being anything stronger here than a tropical storm; and as the week progressed, the hurricane kept getting stronger and stronger and we didn’t know it was a Category 4 until the morning of (its arrival),” he said.
Until Hurricane Michael arrived, Bane’s neighbors didn’t expect such a powerful storm.
“Actually, our neighbors, everybody seemed calm about this storm,” he stated. “We boarded up like most of our other neighbors. Another thing, this area had not seen a hurricane in years. The last hurricane they had was Eloise back in 1975. And this area has been growing. You probably have more people who have moved into the area over the years than people who were raised here. And they did have Hurricane Opal back in (1995) ... they got some damage, but nothing like what we got here now. I understand this is the fourth most destructive storm to hit Florida.”
The Banes were at home when the hurricane arrived in Panama City.
“The storm started about Wednesday (Oct. 10) at noon and the wind just kept getting stronger and stronger. Then we actually had two tornadoes that touched down around our house,” Bane said. “And it is true what they say, it does sound like a freight train.”
One thing Bane wasn’t expecting was how hurricane-force winds behave.
“It’s almost like stages, getting harder and backing off, getting harder and backing off. As the wind would back off the doors, between the door and the door frame, it would be like a mooing sound. It’s one of the things I hope never to hear again, but it will be in my head for the rest of my life. We huddled in our hallway when the tornadoes hit and we were expecting the roof to come off at any time.”
Halfway through the hurricane, something smashed into Bane’s home and busted through the plywood covering the windows. The family thought that a tree had hit their house, but that wasn’t the case. When they emerged, they learned that the object wasn’t a tree. It was their neighbor’s chimney; however, the high wind didn’t knock it over.
“Actually, the wind ripped it off and smashed it into the side of our house,” Bane said. “The wind speed was 155 mph, and what I understand that’s 2 mph less than a Category 5.”
What made Hurricane Michael so destructive in Panama City was that it was right inside “the wall,” that part of the hurricane closest to the eye of the storm, Bane said.
“That’s the strongest winds in a hurricane, when you’re in that wall,” he added. “It slacked off about three hours later. We endured that for three hours.”
When the hurricane finally abated and it was safe to go outside, Bane and his neighbors saw the devastation it had left it its wake.
“It was like all the neighbors came out about the same time, and, basically, we were just all in shock. Trees were down everywhere. One of our neighbor’s campers was turned over on its side,” he stated. “We had lost a lot of shingles, and we had water coming in through the ceiling. We did not know it was a chimney that hit our house. We thought it was a tree originally. Our screened-in patio, believe it or not, was still attached. The screens were all gone, but it was still there. Why that is, I don’t know.”
As of Tuesday, Bane’s community had been without power since Oct. 10, and local providers didn’t expect to have it restored until Oct. 24. Other utilities were damaged, too, but residents are working to bring life back to normal.
“We had no running water for three days, which, thank God, we got it back now. The mosquitoes are out of control. One cell service is totally out ... then another one like the one I’m on is very weak,” he said. “I am back at work. I’m an internal auditor for a credit union and we’re trying to get our branch locations up and running. We have accounted for all our employees and they are safe, and one of our regional credit union organizations, they brought in three U-Hauls full of supplies we can hand out to our employees and even brought in 34 generators for our employees to use.”
“The Sunday before this happened, we did go to town and bought bottled water. Something told me to buy (a generator) and thank God I did; and I would say that so far with our generator, we have gone through about 30 gallons of gasoline,” Bane stated.
Bane said his family was safe, and they even took in an elderly man they know. His motor home was uninhabitable. Bane took a moment to point out that the Panama City part of Florida is different from the rest of the state. The rest of Florida often refers to that part of the panhandle as “Little Alabama.” Many former West Virginia residents live there, and they brought a lot of their culture with them.
“Even my dialect doesn’t stand out,” Bane said. “This is a unique area. It’s not your typical Florida. It’s not your Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Instead of mountains, we have the Gulf of Mexico.”
Bane said the community has been receiving “ a phenomenal” amount of support. The National Guard is operating there, and power company personnel representing most of the 48 lower states are working to restore electricity. The Red Cross and other disaster management agencies were there, too. More help arrived when Bane was talking with the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
“While I was sitting here talking, a truck with the Southern Baptist Convention just drove by with a shower and laundry unit,” he said.
Other problems continue while relief efforts are underway. One particular problem, looting, has prompted both Bane and his wife to carry firearms. A sign, “You Loot, We Shoot” warns thieves away, and Bane knew of at least one incident when a looter learned that homeowners will open fire.
“Actually, a neighbor caught a person breaking into his house the other night and he shot him. That’s what they’re telling us,” he recalled.
Bane said that friends in Princeton and the Bluefield areas have “prayed endlessly” for them and check with them daily through email and Facebook. His employer ordered 72 generators for its workers and has continued to pay them, and the CEO has said “family and safety first, and don’t worry about work until you have your family and your home back in order.”
“One thing I want to say. Personally, our damages were minimal and we are far more blessed and we are much better off than a lot of people here,” he said. “Personally, one thing I’m doing here is reaching out and helping fellow employees who need supplies and things of that nature. We are OK, we’re safe, we’re blessed, and just asking for everybody’s prayers.”
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
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