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Harbor. Mayor of St. Joe, Bo Patterson, stands in front of what remains of one of the two service stations in the city. Both were destroyed by Hurricane Michael, the gas pumps ripped off their concrete slabs.
Debbie Elliott / Debbie Elliott / NPR
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Debbie Elliott / Debbie Elliott / NPR
Harbor. Mayor of St. Joe, Bo Patterson, stands in front of what remains of one of the two service stations in the city. Both were destroyed by Hurricane Michael, the gas pumps ripped off their concrete slabs.
Debbie Elliott / Debbie Elliott / NPR
More than a week after the passage of Hurricane Michael in the pan of Florida, cities and towns are facing the daunting task of rebuilding. The recovery is hindered by catastrophic damage not only for homes and businesses, but also for vital infrastructure.
The small town of Port St. Joe, on the Gulf Coast of Mexico, with a population of about 3,500 inhabitants, is one of the countless communities affected by the storm.
"Wherever you go and where you go, you are witnessing some kind of destruction," said Mayor Bo Patterson. "Be it wind damage, water, one of the two."
Patterson says that Hurricane Michael caused a 13-foot storm surge that flooded the streets closest to St. Joseph's Bay, on the west side of Port St. Joe. The rest of the city saw torn roofs, blown windows and huge oaks and fallen pines.
"Devastating, devastating," he repeats. "I do not know any other word to describe what you see."
The roof is off at the local Baptist church; its bell tower is leaning. The walls are gone from the Burger King. The two service stations in Port St. Joe are also destroyed – gas pumps ripped off their concrete slabs.
"We can not even pump gasoline," says Patterson.
The mayor said that the city could not even start thinking about the revival as long as it would not be able to eliminate all the trees felled from the local roads. Backhoes have been made to help, and teams are working on most streets to replace the utility poles.
In the community of Highland View, just west of Port St. Joe, the storm that hit Hurricane Michael knocked down houses and completely overturned mobile homes.
Debbie Elliott / Debbie Elliott / NPR
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Debbie Elliott / Debbie Elliott / NPR
In the community of Highland View, just west of Port St. Joe, the storm that hit Hurricane Michael knocked down houses and completely overturned mobile homes.
Debbie Elliott / Debbie Elliott / NPR
Meanwhile, locals are trying to clean their sodden homes and use chain saws to cut down felled trees.
"You hear that sound a lot," says Patterson about the chainsaw buzzing. "Until the night, you hear that all day."
Diapers, mattresses and piles of soaked clothes are piled up on the streets of residential streets.
"Almost every street you go down … you'll see such destruction," says Patterson. "People – everything they own is about to be thrown away."
In a flooded apartment near the bay, Alesha Smiley and her brother spent a recent afternoon moving mattresses soaked in the unit that she shares with her grandmother, an elderly amputee in bad health.
"It's depressing," she says. "I'm trying not to think about it too much, but a lot of people have come to help."
Mayor Patterson said the city was receiving help from relief agencies, state governments and the federal government. He admits that the city is at the mercy of outside help because its main source of income – tourism, water and sewer bills – has been decimated.
"We do not know how we are going to pay our bills," he says. "Seriously."
While crossing a neighborhood on the west side of town, Patterson sees signs of progress as he greets residents to clean up the debris from the storm.
"I think most people in this region have power, so that's fine," Patterson said.
He stops in a former high school gymnasium converted into a point of distribution of emergency supplies. Port St. Joe Commissioner Eric Langston is one of the people helping to coordinate the response.
"We still have things to look forward to," says Langston. "We're still here, we're still breathing in. The worst has happened in the hurricane, all we can do is look ahead and try to rebuild."
But Langston recognizes that it will take a long time before the city regains a sense of normalcy.
Back on the road, Mayor Bo Patterson highlights the damage in the downtown business district. The roof is out of his pest control business.
"It's amazing," he says.
He is considering the upcoming reconstruction.
"It's going to take years," says Patterson. "And I hope that the city will survive there."
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