HOLMES BEACH, Fla. — Block after block, piles of debris line the streets in front of homes.
Residents on Anna Maria Island are still surrounded by the mess left behind by two hurricanes.
"I'll feel so much better when we turn onto 71st Street and we don't see any of that anymore,” Shirley Romberger said.
Romberger and her husband have lived in their Holmes Beach home for over 30 years. The block, single-story home was among the first houses built on 71st Street, and the Rombergers bought the house from the original owner.
But the house has never been damaged like this before.
"We're 81 years old,” she said. “We're overwhelmed to say the least and not able to do what young people may be able to."
The one-two punch felt by so many in Tampa Bay has left this beach town looking unrecognizable.
According to the latest update provided by county officials on Tuesday, 70 homes were completely destroyed by Hurricane Milton across Manatee County.
About 3,500 homes suffered major damage, nearly 2,800 had minor damage, and more than 5,600 were affected in some other way. Damage to homes in Manatee County totals an estimated $323 million.
At the Romberger home, Helene’s storm surge brought three feet of water inside the house and Milton's high winds tore up the pool cage and damaged their boat dock.
"But look what was saved, that sailboat of ours,” she said laughing. “It's shocking to us."
She's also amazed by the pictures still hanging on the walls.
"You get a little lift from that. Somehow you got to find the positive among all the negative even though there is so much negative."
Her husband David said this makes you realize what your priorities are.
"The junk that we see now that we have been collecting all our lives, is that there is something more important than this stuff."
The county began an aggressive debris removal program on Monday, starting in Cortez, Palma Sola, Palmetto Point, and Rubonia. More than 500 cubic yards of debris have already been collected.
At the county’s only landfill on Lena Road, tipping fees have been waived, and more than 4,500 tons of debris have been brought since Milton.
Manatee County has extended drop-off hours at the Lena landfill from 6 a.m. to midnight to help speed up recovery.
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.
