TAMPA, Fla. — Flooding from the severe storm surge on Bayshore Boulevard Thursday is all gone but it left behind lots of dirt and debris.
People who live near Bayshore Blvd. spent the majority of the day cleaning up the mess by sweeping up mud, sucking out water, and placing damaged furniture on the curb caused by the unprecedented storm surge that Hurricane Helene brought.
“Up to the driveways, up to the porches and some cases the stoops,” said Rachel Long.
Some residents had about six inches of water get inside their house. When Long saw her street filling with water, she couldn't believe her eyes.
“I’ve never seen it this high, once in a lifetime. In the 28 years that we’ve lived here, Fielding has taken on water but nothing like this, between the surge and the wind, crazy,” she said.
ABC Action News crews were there Thursday afternoon before Hurricane Helene arrived and the storm surge was already waist high. The water mark on the walls of Scott Singer’s home shows you how high the water got.
“I did a lot of volunteer work with the Department of Health and Human Services in New Orleans after Katrina; this reminds me of that. You walked around everywhere in New Orleans not just the Ninth Ward, but the French Quarter, east New Orleans and there were water levels everywhere,” Singer said.
When Singer woke up early Friday to assess the damage and clean up, he was surprised to see what had washed up onto his property.
“I looked out the window and I saw something sitting in my driveway that wasn't there before. That is not my kayak, so that showed up,” Singer said.
The clean-up effort is so large, some residents have hired cleaning crews. Others suspect they’ll be cleaning into the weekend. One thing is certain, they won't have to do it alone.
“This neighborhood is phenomenal. One of our neighbors was out by 4 a.m. cleaning up the street and debris. So, it’s all hands on deck,” Long said.
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.
