THREAD: @taylourmarks and I spent the last two days in Panama City, and I’m still processing everything we saw. One main lesson learned: It’s been 4 months since #HurricaneMichael, and the Panhandle is years away from recovery.

Years might sound dramatic but the estimate for rebuilding Tyndall Air Force Base — which is related to a third of Bay County’s economic activity — is five years.

This isn’t even mentioning more issues yet to come (i.e. when hurricane victims are evicted from the beach for Spring Breakers, when the school year end and population declines, hurricane season).

A four-person family in a FEMA trailer the size of a spacious walk-in closet told us they have that trailer for 18 months and they don’t know where they’ll go after. They hid under a mattress when Michael shredded apart their roof and home.

There’s a lack of housing that isn’t getting solved anytime soon. Bay County school district homeless liaison said there are 20x the number of homeless students as there was before the storm.

Housing isn’t the only problem. Some people told us they hide in closets during rain storms or when the wind picks up. An 11-year-old told us his classmate died. A mom said her daughter ran away.

When I got home, I called my sister and told her how grateful I was for what I have. Reporting this weekend was exhausting and hard, but I’m especially thankful for the people who invited us into their homes and shared their stories. We’ll do them justice. END