Auburn resident Michael Freeman said he always looks for a way to help after such a disaster. On Sunday morning, Freeman is planning to fill his truck and a trailer with as much bottled water as it will hold and will drive to Panama City, Fla.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Panama City, pretty much the entire Emerald Coast area,” he told the Opelika-Auburn News. “Once a month, usually, I’m down somewhere on the Gulf Coast.”
Freeman said he could send money, and will probably do that as well, but wanted to do something more and believes the biggest need will be water.
“I know that clean water is going to be an issue down there because the power is out and the water treatment plants won’t be functional for a while,” he said. “A lot of the areas over in Panama City itself, not just the beach, but downtown is where most of the damage is.”
Freeman said he has a connection through Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Panama City. The pastor is going to receive and help distribute the water to those in need.
Freeman said his wife, who is a nurse, will also join him on the trip, and the two will help in whatever ways they can.
“I’ll see how this goes, and it’s possible that I will make another run down there if the need continues,” he said. “I expect it’s going to be a while before they get power up down there.”
Lee County citizens send relief to areas affected by Michael
As the storm churned through the part of southwest Georgia where the grandparents lived, Mr. Radney, 37, called to check in at least once an hour, and sometimes every 15 minutes. Things were fine at first.
But on Wednesday afternoon he got a call from his brother. The reception was bad and Mr. Radney could not quite make out what his brother was saying. But he could tell he was crying.
“When I finally got through and spoke to my mom, my mom said Sarah had been hit in the head,” Mr. Radney said.
The wind, he was told, had lifted up a portable carport that had been behind the house and thrust it toward the home. One of its legs burst through and struck both Sarah and Mr. Radney’s mother. His mother’s lung was punctured, her rib broken. Sarah’s head injury left her gasping for air for 45 minutes to an hour.
“Last night was just hell,” Mr. Radney said. “I’m an hour and a quarter away, and my daughter’s dying, and I can’t do anything about it. I can’t think of anything that is more related to hell than that.”
Then, finally, Mr. Radney and his wife got through again, and his father told Mr. Radney’s wife that Sarah had died.
“And that’s about the end of the story,” Mr. Radney said.
Read more about Mr. Radney’s memories of Sarah
here.
Hurricane Michael Live Updates: ‘So Many Families Have Lost Everything’
... Maybe this will already be answered once I get caught up.
