Tyndall Air Force Base Suffers ‘Catastrophic’ Damage During Hurricane Michael

Top video shows utter devastation at nearby Mexico Beach - scroll down for a video showing Tyndall AFB

Tyndall Air Force Base sustained “catastrophic” damage when Hurricane Michael hit. The storm, a strong Category 4 system, directly hit the base on Oct. 10.

Air Force officials said that due to the damage, the base will likely be uninhabited for weeks, according to the military news website Stars and Stripes.

The roofing was torn on aircraft hangars in the base, which is located near Panama City. Both Panama City and nearby Mexico Beach were devastated by the storm’s 155 mph winds and storm surge.

No power, water, or sewer service is available on the Air Force Base, officials said. People who evacuated should stay away, said officials.

“At this point, Tyndall residents and evacuated personnel should remain at their safe location,” Col. Brian Laidlaw, the wing’s commander, said, the publication reported. “We are actively developing plans to reunite families and plan to provide safe passage back to base housing.”

No injuries were reported at the base.

All of the functioning aircraft on the base were sent away ahead of the storm, officials also said. There were taken to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and Carswell Field in Texas.

Tyndall base leadership is “working with Air Force leadership to develop a short-term plan for our airmen,” Laidlaw said, according to the News-Herald.

“I’m sure there will be lots of questions about how to help,” Col. Michael Conley, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, said of the base destruction. “Let’s give the Tyndall team the chance to fully assess the situation and figure out what they need.”

Rubble left in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael is pictured in Mexico Beach, Florida, on Oct. 11, 2018. Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Update on the Storm

Now, Michael, a tropical storm, is producing life-threatening flash flooding across portions of North Carolina and Virginia, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Oct. 11. Damaging tropical storm-force winds are hammering those two states.

The center of “Michael is moving toward the northeast near 24 mph, and this motion is expected to continue with an increase in forward speed through tonight. A turn toward the east-northeast at an even faster forward speed is expected on Friday and Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Michael will move across eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia this evening, and move into the western Atlantic Ocean tonight,” the NHC said.

“Mexico Beach took the brunt,” FEMA Administrator Brock Long said via the Weather Channel. “That’s probably ground zero.”

According to reports on Oct. 11, at least two people died during the storm. More than 900,000 customers were left without power in the southeastern United States.

Gov. Scott called on Floridians not to go home yet due to search-and-rescue and recovery efforts in the area. He suggested that it’s dangerous to go back and may hamper search-and-rescue efforts.

“I know you just want to go home. You want to check on things, and begin the recovery process,” Scott told AP. But “we have to make sure things are safe.”