[tevake]

To be fair, here in the panhandle there have been a lot of notices since the beginning of the season about taking steps to be prepared for possible storms and the possible long aftermath. But this was not a part of the actual storm coverage as this one is approaching. Now it's the current sensational hype coverage.
Except that now I'm safely tucked in away from the coast, with no TV signal to watch the coverage, I really do miss seeing what is going on.

Cat 4 and still strengthening as it closes with the coast. From what I can tell from Internet news it will make landfall just the the west of or directly over Panama City.
The entire coast along there is pretty developed and there are lots of waterways going inland all along that area with choice waterfront properties on those waterways, so lots of exposure for a lot of folks.

My place is 15 miles inland from Panama City Beach and about 1/2 mile from a river that may flood with the heavy rain. But the area historically has not been impacted by storm surge. Plus my place is on some highish ground.
Still lots of old growth trees all around. Generally this densely forested area seems to create shelter in normal wind storms, they could be a problem in really high winds.

The current track may bring the Eye very close to Ebro, fingers crossed.

Cheers Richard