PENSACOLA, Fla. — Widespread damage stretched across Pensacola, Escambia County and other parts of Northwest Florida after Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday morning.
Dozens of streets flooded, including Main Street, though the water has since receded. Trees were down on homes and streets throughout the area.
The roof of Gent’s Formal Wear at North Alcaniz Street and Wright Street appeared to peel back and land next door, covering a two-story home. Inside were Danielle Foster, her husband Brandon and their three-week-old baby.
“The entire house shook,” Danielle said. “It felt kinda like an earthquake for a brief couple of seconds.”
Foster said the roof never touched their vehicles, and their house appeared to suffer only minor damage that caused a small leak. “It was over pretty quick,” she said. “The scariest part though was just these power lines because they were still live and would spark green and blue. I thought the house might go up in flames.”
A few blocks toward downtown, the roof was ripped from the Museum of Commerce. Nearby, water got inside The Ruby Slipper, some salons and The Garden, a covered outdoor area with food trucks.
“We’ve got about a foot of water throughout the entire thing,” landlord Michael Carro said. “We’re very fortunate the Airstreams behind me are all elevated so as soon as we get power and gas, we’ll be able to fire those restaurants back up and start serving tacos and empanadas right away.”
Carro said the moment calls for neighbors helping neighbors. “This is where you come out of your homes and you really buckle down. That’s the silver lining of any type of event like this is we come together as a community,” he said.
Gulf Power reported that of 153,000 total customers in Escambia County, 146,830 were still without electricity. In Santa Rosa County, 54,400 were without power, and in Okaloosa County, 26,660 customers were in the dark.