After Hurricane Michael, residents of the Panhandle say the prospect of even more intense storms, and the subsequently difficult recoveries, made them want to leave. Hurricane Michael slammed the Gulf Coast with $30 billion in combined economic losses, including storm damage. And it resulted in the loss of 9,300 jobs. 

“This is going to take time, and it’s not going to be easy to come to solutions here,” said Kim Cobb of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, "Slowly but surely Mother Nature is going to remind us that our entire economy is on the line.”