Hurricane Michael: The Destruction of Mexico Beach, FL
October 13, 2018 3:45 AM Subscribe
Remarkable footage of the destruction from a Gopro camera left running at Mexico Beach while Michael made landfall. Via reddit/r/TropicalWeather
I don't know that I've ever seen a video that so effectively demonstrates the feeling of being in the hurricane. That was intense.
Also, when my dad was stationed at Tyndall AFB in the late 70s / early 80s Mexico Beach was our go to beach. There was nothing there back then, which sadly is kind of true again after the storm. We would park on the side of road and spend the day on the beach.
posted by COD at 6:26 AM on October 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
Also, when my dad was stationed at Tyndall AFB in the late 70s / early 80s Mexico Beach was our go to beach. There was nothing there back then, which sadly is kind of true again after the storm. We would park on the side of road and spend the day on the beach.
posted by COD at 6:26 AM on October 13, 2018 [7 favorites]
In the centre of this Google Street View scene is a tall light pole which I believe was what the camera was fastened to during the filming. You can pan left and see the Exxon gas station, four story apartment block, restaurant with skylights that looses its roof early on, and disappearing shed that all feature strongly in the footage. I kind of enjoy looking up footage on maps based on visual references, to see exactly where they were made.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:07 AM on October 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:07 AM on October 13, 2018 [12 favorites]
That beach house lost it's roof very early. I wondered why they don't build them stronger. But at that location, maybe it's kind of disposable anyway?
posted by jjj606 at 7:12 AM on October 13, 2018
posted by jjj606 at 7:12 AM on October 13, 2018
Turns out it's a restaurant (Toucan's) and that roof had a lot of skylights, and possibly a patio door on the ocean side; the instant any of those big panes of glass failed through overpressure or debris impact, enough wind would get in to lift and peel the rest of the roof straight off. Places like that, especially if they were built several decades ago, probably didn't even bother with hurricane ties, so there's nothing to hold the roof on other than gravity.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:54 AM on October 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:54 AM on October 13, 2018 [4 favorites]
So what what the GoPro attached to?
posted by octothorpe at 8:08 AM on October 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 8:08 AM on October 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nah. Just going to shelter in place. I've seen hurricanes before. I'll be fine...
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:17 AM on October 13, 2018
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:17 AM on October 13, 2018
Q: How can you tell if a video was shot with a G○Pr○ brand camera?
A: You don't have to do anything. The poster will tell you.
posted by glonous keming at 8:18 AM on October 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
A: You don't have to do anything. The poster will tell you.
posted by glonous keming at 8:18 AM on October 13, 2018 [14 favorites]
Awesome. And the final half minutes' lighting was beautiful.
posted by doctornemo at 9:17 AM on October 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by doctornemo at 9:17 AM on October 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Thanks for the video, unfortunately it seems like conspiracy eats everything as the next video recommended to me by google is a delusional woman going on about it being "definitely not a hurricane but a World Trade Towers class targeted strike."
posted by Pembquist at 9:32 AM on October 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Pembquist at 9:32 AM on October 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
The knocking at the sunset of the video adds a spookiness I wasn't expecting.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:40 AM on October 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Countess Elena at 9:40 AM on October 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
"In the centre of this Google Street View scene is a tall light pole which I believe was what the camera was fastened to during the filming."
Right, I just researched this as well and that's definitely the location and the pole to which the camera is attached. Here's the Google Maps location for that light pole, and then in this eight-minute helicopter footage of the destruction across Mexico Beach, at the 3:05 mark the video is looking down at the (former) Exxon station, with that multi-story hotel in the background, and (as previously mentioned) the Toucans's Restaurant to the left which you see begin to disintegrate right from the beginning of the GoPro video. In the helicopter footage, what's left of Toucan's is just a smear of debris.
Also, earlier in the helicopter video they flyby the toppled Mexico Beach water tower. Initially, it seems like the collapse must have been spectacular, but on close inspection it doesn't look like the tank atop the tower burst or the like and it doesn't look like it landed on anything. Must have been frightening to watch it fall, if anyone was watching and could see it through the weather.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:42 AM on October 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Right, I just researched this as well and that's definitely the location and the pole to which the camera is attached. Here's the Google Maps location for that light pole, and then in this eight-minute helicopter footage of the destruction across Mexico Beach, at the 3:05 mark the video is looking down at the (former) Exxon station, with that multi-story hotel in the background, and (as previously mentioned) the Toucans's Restaurant to the left which you see begin to disintegrate right from the beginning of the GoPro video. In the helicopter footage, what's left of Toucan's is just a smear of debris.
Also, earlier in the helicopter video they flyby the toppled Mexico Beach water tower. Initially, it seems like the collapse must have been spectacular, but on close inspection it doesn't look like the tank atop the tower burst or the like and it doesn't look like it landed on anything. Must have been frightening to watch it fall, if anyone was watching and could see it through the weather.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:42 AM on October 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
The NYT has a scrolling graphic showing the utter destruction of Mexico Beach.
posted by gwint at 9:43 AM on October 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by gwint at 9:43 AM on October 13, 2018 [10 favorites]
Is that chunks of the road towards the end? As in the road itself was just torn apart?
I think that is actually asphalt roofing, as from a commercial building.
posted by Autumnheart at 2:31 PM on October 13, 2018
I think that is actually asphalt roofing, as from a commercial building.
posted by Autumnheart at 2:31 PM on October 13, 2018
That final sunset is some Annihilation-level imagery.
posted by valkane at 4:17 PM on October 13, 2018
posted by valkane at 4:17 PM on October 13, 2018
You remember that scene in The Newsroom where the scientist from the EPA is being interviewed and he basically shrugs his shoulders and admits there is no way to ameliorate the effects of climate change anymore and humanity is fucked? I think about that scene a lot when watching footage like this, because these storms will only get more powerful.
posted by um at 9:17 PM on October 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by um at 9:17 PM on October 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
NYT did another follow-up on Mexico Beach-- about the one house that survived almost unscathed (tl;td? Concrete, rebar, 40' pilings, double the cost of a typical house)
posted by gwint at 7:23 PM on October 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gwint at 7:23 PM on October 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Q: How can you tell if a video was shot with a G○Pr○ brand camera?
A: You don't have to do anything. The poster will tell you.
Ha, I just told someone a variant of this joke today, at an EV outreach event. Been using it for like 5 years.
Q: How can you tell if someone has an elecric car?
A: They won't stop telling you about it.
posted by intermod at 7:55 PM on October 14, 2018
A: You don't have to do anything. The poster will tell you.
Ha, I just told someone a variant of this joke today, at an EV outreach event. Been using it for like 5 years.
Q: How can you tell if someone has an elecric car?
A: They won't stop telling you about it.
posted by intermod at 7:55 PM on October 14, 2018
I was wondering about that house! Pretty much all the other survivors beachside had at least roof or siding damage, but that one house stood out unscathed.
posted by tavella at 11:11 PM on October 14, 2018
posted by tavella at 11:11 PM on October 14, 2018
Jeff Piotrowski has uploaded some footage from the eyewall.
posted by carter at 5:53 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by carter at 5:53 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nice ink to the hurricane eye footage. I can now kind of see why you would do this, it is a little like seeing the eclipse I imagine. I don't mean this in a snarky way but I wish that guy either had a better camera or had some better camera skills or both. His excitement is contagious.
posted by Pembquist at 1:32 PM on October 16, 2018
posted by Pembquist at 1:32 PM on October 16, 2018
National geodetic survey, hard at work, come wind or federal budget cuts
Oct 11th photography
Zoom in to discover, this is pretty high resolution for use in response, just low enough that you can't tell people apart, but you can survey structures well.
posted by eustatic at 7:52 PM on October 16, 2018
Oct 11th photography
Zoom in to discover, this is pretty high resolution for use in response, just low enough that you can't tell people apart, but you can survey structures well.
posted by eustatic at 7:52 PM on October 16, 2018
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