STEINHATCHEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Hurricane Helen made landfall as a Category 4 storm when it hit Taylor County with sustained winds of around 140 mph. The biggest impact? The storm surge.
- Helene's storm surge reached over 20ft in Steinhatchee.
- Anna King shares her experiences of evacuation and returning to the devastation.
- Watch the video to learn how storm surge works and how it can affect anyone around the coastline.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
September 26th, 2024. At 11:10 p.m. Helene made landfall here in Taylor County as a Category 4 major hurricane. With max sustained winds at 140 miles an hour.
I spoke with Anna King, a resident of Steinhatchee, about her experiences with Helene.
"So we did evacuate to Cross City, which is about 20 minutes south of here. We left just hours before dark the night before. And then just you try to check on your community. It's more than just you packing up and going, you have family and friends too. So really it gets down to the wire on the last minute. And as soon as the storm passed through me and my two best friends we got into his Diesel truck. We got in there and came home. And we were like, we need to go put our eyes on what is going on and figure out how to help because we knew at that point that it was total devastation."
Their house had mere inches of going water going into it. And they are elevated 13 feet in the air and 7 feet above sea level. So that's 20 feet of storm surge that was lapping at the bottom of their house.
So what is storm surge? Strong winds around the eye of a hurricane cause a vertical circulation within the ocean. When it's close to the shore, the ocean hits the shallow seabed along the coast and pushes water upward and inland.
Storm surge is the most dangerous part of a hurricane, causing the most damage. Steinhatchee had to deal with at least 20 feet of storm surge. But how are they recovering a year later?
"One year later, people are still finding their way. They're still people living in the campers. And for some it may be what they live in forever, I don't know. I would really like to see the programs like Elevate Florida and Rebuild Florida really be successful and help people get back into homes. In terms of businesses we do have I would say the vast majority of businesses are reopened in some capacity. It may not be perfect, they're making the best of what they have right now. And they are working on getting permits and plans so they can come back better than ever. And I think that's something that when you look at what Roy's has been through they're the pinnacle. They're the first business that gets hit by any storm because they're right there at the mouth of the river. And they've rebuilt so many times and you cannot get Linda Wicker down. Her and her family are amazing."
Nothing can beat the resilience of Taylor County, not even a major hurricane. From Taylor County, I'm Ryan Gold ABC 27.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
