The city of Panama suffers from the destructive force of Hurricane Michael

While Hurricane Michael was threatening the Florida Panhandle with howling winds and dangerous waves, the people of Panama City Beach, witnesses of the storm, witnessed the extent of the damage done.

Social media videos showed 155 km / h winds pulling roofing tarps new housing on the beach collapse in the invasive waves.

"The resort next to us is completely demolished," said 51-year-old Lisa Dawn Parker, who has been living in Panama City Beach for almost three years and was crossing the storm with her boyfriend in the apartment. a friend, right next to the beach.

"The windows are broken, the whole facade is gone," she said in a telephone interview with NBC News on Wednesday after the storm hit.

"We did not think it would be worse than [hurricane] Ivan, she said, we do not know why we stayed.

She said that there was "a lot of wind and debris" and that "the rest of the beach is shredded by the waves." The water seems to be rising back up to At the dunes of here. "

The sustained winds reached sustained winds of 155 mph when it touched down on Wednesday morning, making it a category 4 – but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Two people were confirmed dead, including an 11-year-old, after Tropical Storm Michael landed, making it the most violent hurricane to have hit Florida's panhandle of history. Nearly 326,000 customers in Florida and more than 334,000 in Georgia and Alabama would be without electricity.

"I've spent all my life here and I've never seen water get to the end of the pier this way," said Panama City Beach Mayor Mike Thomas, to MSNBC. , before the storm landed Wednesday afternoon near Mexico City sparsely populated about 28 miles southeast.

He said that he was discouraged that a number of the 12,000 inhabitants of the city had not evacuated in advance, preferring to shelter there. Even though they wanted it, all the county bridges were deemed unsafe and were closed earlier Wednesday afternoon.

"If you are going to live in a beautiful place, there is always some kind of problem, and it's really beautiful, even now … it's just a pity [the hurricane is] so destructive, "Thomas said.

The seaside resort of the Gulf Coast – and the largest destination in the nearby city of Panama – has attracted vacationers and springtime revelers for decades with its emerald waters and white sugar sand. Last year, the number of visitors to Panama City Beach reached a record $ 17 million, generating $ 2.8 billion in economic activity, according to a report on local tourism released in March.

MTV's "Jersey Shore" film "Floribama Shore" is also filmed in Panama City Beach.

Michael is now the first threat of this magnitude to hit the region since record keeping more than 165 years ago. Since then, no Category 4 or higher storm has yet hit the Florida Panhandle, according to researchers.

In addition, the maximum winds at Michael 's landing were the fourth record recorded for a hurricane hitting the American continent, just behind Andrew in 1992, Camille in 1969 and the most important: a nameless storm in 1935.

Observers worry that it will shred pockets of the valuable coastline, which is part of a larger segment of 100 miles dubbed the emerald coast. Condominium towers and houses dot the beaches.

"This is going to absolutely devastate Panama City Beach," said Jason Senkbeil, an associate professor of geography at the University of Alabama, who has done research on people evacuated by the hurricane.

Abnormally warm waters in the Gulf in October fueled this hurricane.

Sarah Shelley, a long-time resident in Panama City, near Panama City Beach, said in a telephone interview with MSNBC on Wednesday afternoon, describing the rainy and windy conditions even after the storm passed.

"We did not really expect the situation to become so strong and fast," she said, although she added that her house was in a "fairly high area" outside the areas. flood. Still, her back porch and carport were washed away by the high winds, she said.

Like many people in the area, Shelley has lost power, but she says they have food and water and her parents living on the street have a RV that allows them to cook if necessary as a result of the hurricane.

In addition to tourism, Senkbeil said that the local agricultural industry, which includes peanuts and cotton, could suffer now because it is the time of harvest.

"There will be a strong monetary value in terms of economic farm loss," he added.

In addition, the area is dotted with two-lane roads and pines. Strong winds could block access to isolated fishing villages and streets.

"These pines are tall and lean, and they will break like twigs under winds of 150 km / h," Senkbeil said.

Osama Albibi said his wife and three young children were evacuated Tuesday night from Panama City Beach to Panama City to stay with their family before the storm.

Albibi, a 40-year-old Merrill Lynch financial advisor, said he was particularly concerned for his parents, both 68, who decided to stay in Panama City Beach. Their house is about 12 feet above sea level – but it is expected that the storm surge will exceed this level.

"I feel that they may take it a little lightly," said Albibi. "I tried to explain to them that it did not look like any kind of hurricane."

In Southport, Florida, just north of Panama City, Daniel Dean described widespread damage and debris.

"There are trees – I mean trees at the top of the trees at the top of the trees at the top of the trees – that are piling up on the roads," Dean said in a MSNBC phone interview Wednesday after -midday. "Power lines cross the road," he said.

"At this point, it's catastrophic in Southport (…), we have garage doors that have been broken," he said, adding that the entire roof of a church had been torn off.

"There are floods everywhere," Dean said. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire life in the Panhandle area, ever."

In Callaway, a town of about 14,000 people just east of Panama City, Doug Jones was at home when a tree fell on it, completely destroying the structure.

"I was in the living room and I heard a huge crackling," Jones, 50, a traffic technician for Bay County said in a phone interview. He stayed because he was on call. "All of a sudden, the roof collapsed, I had to jump down the hall so it would not fall on me."

"I'm trying to save what I can." The house can be rebuilt, but our photos and everything are getting wet, "said Jones, getting emotional.

Although Jones is from Florida and has lived many hurricanes, he said the storm was particularly severe.

"It's the worst hurricane I've ever known," Jones said.