SARASOTA, Fla. — Homeowners living in the Laurel Meadows subdivision of Sarasota County are overwhelmed as they clean up after Tropical Storm Debby.
Jody Valvo has lived in the neighborhood since 2018.
She tried to move sentimental items to higher ground as Tropical Storm Debby flooded her home.
Those items included photos of her late relatives and a chair her father would sit in at dinner.
"It went up higher than I can save it. That's the things you've lost. People lost pictures or videos of their children taking their first steps, their kids graduating whether it be from elementary or high school, college," said Valvo.
Last week, aerial footage showed the neighborhood flooded, and homeowners used boats and kayaks to get in and out of the subdivision.
The water has receded, but neighbors are stuck cleaning up the mess. FEMA officials were in the neighborhood on Tuesday.
"You don't understand when you were here for Ian and you were for Irma and things like that, and it didn't happen, so how did tropical storm Debby make it happen?" said Valvo.
Crystal Creech and her family also live in Laurel Meadows. Her family has gutted their home.
Many homeowners have tossed their belongings to the curb. The majority of homeowners do not have flood insurance.
"Women kind of dream about redoing their homes, oh, I'll take a new kitchen, oh, I'll take a new bathroom, but not under these circumstances. This is hard. This is overwhelming, sleepless nights," said Creech.
As people cleaned up, a family stopped by and handed out free pizza to homeowners. They told ABC Action News that they live nearby, and their street flooded, but the water did not get into their home.
"We have people come up to the door and say, can we just help? Can we do whatever you need done? So it's been really beautiful to see that," said Creech.
"Your home is not going to look like your home anymore. It's going to look like something that you put together with what you could now afford," said Valvo.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
