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I am in destin, florida. we are outside of the folks who are getting the brunt of this category four hurricane and i m still hanging on here on this dock. we are in between a massive structure and the gulf of mexico to my left. this is a $10 million berm that was created after the last category four, that was opal in 95. and so the other side of that obviously is the ocean and it s really grown increasingly choppy, white caps and some of the waves in here in this inlet. just to be able to spin around and give you some perspective of the wind we re feeling and we re protected between this berm and this harbor walk marina, you can see some of the palm fronds, not all, not nearly as bad as what john berman and those guys have been feeling. just to give you a sense of what it feels like 40 miles west from where they are is beautiful dustin, florida. and on the other side of this ....
And on for the last 3 1/2 hours here in destin. that could cause substantial flooding. the storm surge is something to watch. in storm surge throughout the zone, 9 to 13 feet, again, this is an area i will not be able to stand in in the coming hours because the storm surge could be significant. it s a category 4 storm. here s the thing. some people chose to evacuate. great idea. some people chose to stay and ride this out. this part of the country has not seen anything like this in quite sometime. reporter: joel howell over for us in dustin. joining me is the city manager of panama city beach. you were with us yesterday and so helpful in understanding what this storm will do. what is your area of biggest ....
the northern shore is receiving a really good pounding. we have a bay to the north of us and that heavy wave action is being slammed into the residence areas and restaurants. reporter: including your own seafood restaurant getting hammered by the wind and the water. what are you most nervous about? most nervous about losing the whole dock. being a six generation floridian, we ve lost docks before. reporter: i keep hearing you guys say that. this is the most powerful storm to have ever hit the florida panhandle. that s right. luckily for the city of dustin, we are getting a reprieve to a certain extent because we are on the western side. reporter: but you have a ton of friends in pcb and apalachicola, you re incredibly concerned because this is a fishing community, that is your bread and butter. absolutely. having been in the fishing business my whole life, this ....
To go, brooke. reporter: you totally warned them. i think the difference is a lot of people down here in florida, eh, category two, we re going to be fine and then all of a sudden they woke up and said, oh my goodness, it s a category four, maybe we should is left. i was talking to this sweet couple over breakfast this morning, they re from south florida, they moved up here and bought a beautiful house on panama city beach. they just grabbed a bunch of documents, the dogs and they are here in dustin and fingers crossed they have a home to go back to. john berman, i know you re standing by with somebody to talk to about what they ve seen. go for it. reporter: that s right. and people hear what they want to hear. because jennifer and our meteorologists were saying this was a serious, dangerous storm that could get stronger, nothing in its way to slow it down and nothing did slow it down. ....
Widespread power outages. all along the coast to track the storm, we will check in with jennifer gray for a look at everything you need to know about the storm in a moment. first let s start with nick valencia who is in myrtle beach, south carolina. heeding the warning to evacuate now. nick, as you watch that, people are listening to the warnings. we talked to a lot of residents who are not listening to the warnings. they will be safe enough to ride it out. we are outside one of the costcos as we watch people to prepare for the storms. two folks are planning and getting ready for the storm. dustin and keith, you have been planning for a little while. you are taking care of your beach house. we are securing and tying everything down. making sure the refrigerator is cleaned out and nothing can blow ....