Mental stress mounts in Michael’s aftermath

PANAMA CITY, FLA. — Amy Cross has a hard time explaining the stress of living in a city that was splintered by Hurricane Michael. She’s fearful after hearing gunshots at night, and she’s confused because she no longer recognizes the place where she’s spent her entire 45 years.

“I just know I don’t feel real, and home doesn’t feel like home at all,” Cross said.

Health workers say they are seeing signs of mental problems in residents more than a week after Michael, and the issues could continue as a short-term disaster turns into a long-term recovery that will take years.

Tony Averbuch, who leads a disaster medical assistance team that is seeing 80 to 100 patients daily in tents set up in a parking lot of the badly damaged Bay Medical Sacred Heart hospital, said some people are showing signs of fraying.

It’s not hard to imagine: Just getting to the treatment site involves navigating streets with roadblocks and fallen utility lines, and the hospital building itself was ripped open by Michael’s powerful winds.

“In any kind of disaster what we find is that people have been exposed to circumstances that are well beyond what they normally deal with day to day,” said Averbuch, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Research scientist David Murphey said children look to their parents for cues as how to respond to completely new and frightening situations.

“If they see parents kind of falling apart at the seams, that’s going to create anxiety for the children as well,” said Murphey.

Dr. Emily Harville, an associate professor at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, said most people will be back to where they were within a year or so, but others will have difficulty for a longer period.

“There will be a small group that continues to have longterm mental health issues,” she said.

Jessyka Bartice, 34, of Panama City is worried about both her hometown and caring for her child. But she also is looking for the good in a horrible situation.

“It’s a really sad thing for this to happen, but it’s brought everybody together,” she said. “It’s going to make this town a bigger and better place.”

AP Franlisa Smith, whose son, Nick, plays on the Mosley High football team, hugs coach William Mosley at the start of practice at the school, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Michael, in Lynn Haven, Fla., on Friday.