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TYNDALL Air Force Base, Florida – The air force was still assessing the catastrophic damage to this base on the Gulf Coast five days after Hurricane Michael, and military officials said normal operations would not resume. so early.
All homes suffered significant damage to the roof and siding, and some suffered more severe structural failures, Tyndall officials said on the base's website. The flight line was devastated, sheds were stripped, its marina disappeared and a drone runway seriously damaged. Many other structures, including Tyndall Primary School, were in poor condition.
"It's going to take time to recover," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said on Sunday, based on a background of mutilated trees.
Hurricane Michael, which hit the coast Wednesday with winds of 155 km / h and a strong ocean rush, killed at least 18 people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, and balance sheet is likely to rise.
The magnitude of the devastation was clear on Monday. Metal sheets and other debris were scattered. Tiles were missing on the roofs of ranch-style houses, and some had gaping holes. A huge airplane hangar had lost a large part of its metal roof.
The Armed Services Committee of the House is worried about the unknown number of F-22 fighter planes that were damaged by the damage caused by Michael's destruction in the hangars, said a staff member Monday. The committee was awaiting an initial damage report on Tyndall, including an explanation of why the aircraft had not been flown to ensure their safety before the storm, said the staff member.
"We have an idea of their physical appearance, but until we really take and eat them, [we won’t] have a good idea of the type of damage done, "said General David Goldfein, Chief of the Air Staff.
President Trump visited the hurricane-ravaged Florida Panhandle on Monday, praising economic stimulus efforts, while noting that the storm had "literally wiped out" some homes.
"Our greatest asset is food, water and security," said Trump after landing at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, where he is boarded a helicopter to monitor the devastation.
General Goldfein congratulated Tyndall's leaders for safely evacuating 11,000 people from the base and having flown planes more than 48 hours before the storm. Michael quickly became one of the most powerful hurricanes in the history of the United States.
There were no deaths or injuries at the base, where 93 airmen went through the storm, officials said.
Some residents of the base reported being left with almost nothing and since then have not been able to retrieve important items or check their homes. Colonel Brian Laidlaw, commander of 325 Wing Fighter, on Monday issued a letter in which he was informed that he would give advice the next day on when and how residents could temporarily access the base.
"For the moment, it is not yet sure to do it," said Dr. Wilson.
Army retiree Jeremy Goosey, who lived in a rented duplex on the base with his wife and two children, welcomed Colonel Laidlaw's message. His family lives with his wife's parents in their apartment in the nearby city of Panama. He said it annoys him that he can not go home.
"What concerns me is to preserve the objects that have survived the storm and not wait for the mold to penetrate and destroy what we have left," he said.
Lindsay Vaughn said that all she knew was that aerial photos show that a roof still covers the house that she shares at the base with her aviator husband and their two young children.
"Honestly, we have no idea about the state of our house, our belongings," she said Monday as the family traveled to Texas to visit relatives.
Tyndall's magnificent black bears are another source of concern, she said: "They will spend nice hours on a base."
Rick Dahlmann, also a retired living on a base, said his frustration was tempered by the belief that the harm was largely caused and by the gratitude that no one in his family had been hurt. "We have the important things, we are well, we are safe," he said. "Life will continue."
General Goldfein stated that it is possible that some members of the Air Force may not return to the base but be sent permanently to other duty stations. "We have not made any decisions yet. We are really focused on the laser to get from this command team what it needs to recover, "he said.
Colonel Laidlaw said that it would probably be "a few weeks before we can start recovering our power." He said the priority was to prepare the base to host and host a reparations-based unit. Another goal is to make the base safe for airmen and residents, he said, and it requires cleaning up fallen trees and debris.
"We lost a lot of tires on our trucks and other vehicles that drive on nails and other debris. If we open the doors too early, we could make matters worse, "he said.
Mr. Wilson stated that civil engineering teams had arrived and that command and control were being reinstated. She predicted that the initial shock would soon give way to optimism. "In two weeks, they'll see, hey, it's coming back," she says.
Ben Kesling contributed to this article.
Write to Scott Calvert at [email protected] and Jon Kamp at [email protected]
Corrections & Amplifications
The Air Force is monitoring the damage to Florida's base after Hurricane Michael. A previous title had incorrectly stated: After investigations on the forces, damage to the Florida base after Hurricane Michael. (October 15, 2018)
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