PANAMA CITY, Fla. — As the new year begins, many people in Florida's Panhandle are still trying to recover, rebuild and clean up the damage from Hurricane Michael.

The images of destruction are becoming a part of history for many, but for the thousands who were in Michael's path it's still so real.

Spectrum Bay News 9 met Harry Fager in October after he evacuated to the Bay area.

He had a wall blown out of his Panama City condo building and was stuck with no power and no water.

Angie Angers caught up with him recently, about 10 weeks after their first meeting.

Fager has been carefully documenting his city's progress, but he said it's been slow. Video of Beck Avenue in St. Andrews still shows what Michael left behind.

"It's gonna be a long haul, and I think a lot of us feel like we've been forgotten," Fager said. "But the reality is that we're all now starting to realize just how enormous this issue is."

Images from throughout the Panhandle after Hurricane Michael.

He said Panama City just doesn't look like itself anymore. Trees are still down all over the place, and piles of debris are becoming part of the landscape.

"Just week after week, still we have debris that needs to be removed and it's mind blowing," he said. "When you finally see a street clean you're like, ‘Wow! It looks halfway normal now.'"

As for his condo, he is expecting everything to be back to normal by spring. He said he is one of the lucky ones.

With so many homes destroyed and businesses closed, the city has grown quiet.

"A lot of people lost their homes and a lot of people lost their businesses," Fager said. "So many just left."

"It's a staggering change because landmarks that they've known for years are gone. And they're gone forever."

He is hoping that lifelong residents come back and continue to rebuild. But he thinks it could take a few years.

The damage caused by Hurricane Michael could top $5 billion.