The town of Steinhatchee, Florida was hit with a one-two punch of hurricanes

STEINHATCHEE, Fla. – Residents returned to this coastal town Friday morning to find their beloved businesses leveled, homes washed away and streets flooded, a little more than a year after another hurricane devastated the village.

Hurricane Helene hit land the day before with sustained maximum wind speeds of 140 miles per hour, leaving residents of the 500-person community shaken and heartbroken.

“Every storm we’ve had just keeps getting worse,” said Susan Grant, 63, as she surveyed the damage outside her home on Friday.

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Her house was still standing, but rushing water from Helene’s storm surge exceeded the 14-foot-high stilts on which it stands and flooded the interior, destroying her furniture and sweeping away the front steps.

Although she was grateful that she still had a home to return to, her longtime workplace and local landmark, Crabbie Dad’s Bar & Grill, was razed.

“The whole building is gone,” Grant, 63, said as she stood in front of her home.

At least 42 people died across the region and millions were left without power after the Category 4 storm ripped through the Southeast.

Helene weakened into a tropical depression on Friday and moved north with strong winds, heavy rain and “life-threatening” conditions, the National Hurricane Center said.

In the hardest-hit Big Bend region of Florida, where Steinhatchee is located, flooded roads were impassable while others were covered in thick layers of mud, branches and debris. Some homes and docks were washed away while others were flooded.

Grant said her shed fell over and was dragged across her property.

Nearby, a road damaged by last year’s Hurricane Idalia was cleared of concrete and partially blocked by debris from two docks.

“It’s devastating,” Grant said. “Guys, they’ve worked a lot here, and it’s just sad. “It’s sad that we’ve had to endure so much in one year.”

The street in front of Gary Keen’s home was unrecognizable Friday after floodwaters receded, leaving behind layers of branches, algae and other plant debris. Large pieces of wood several centimeters high spread across his property for meters.

Keen and his family had to build a small path and climb over pieces of plywood, coolers and a sign from a business “that didn’t come close,” he said.

Part of his home was flooded and he lost power and running water, but Keen was relieved that his home was in better condition than others he had seen.

“I don’t have much,” he said. “I’m just grateful to have my house.”

Making matters worse for many residents is the lack of accessible flood insurance, meaning they cannot afford to begin repairing or rebuilding their homes.

“It’s almost impossible to get flood insurance here. If so, it’s so expensive that a lot of people don’t have it,” said Paul Nawlin, 60, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Steinhatchee.

Docks were destroyed along the Steinhatchee River and the well-known Roy’s Restaurant collapsed, the structure collapsing and jagged wooden pillars tumbling on top of each other.

Concrete blocks and remnants of the restaurant, including pots and pans, wine bottles and table knives and spoons, were scattered along the street along with tree branches.

Ron Bloom, associate pastor of First Baptist Church Steinhatchee, said it was “heartbreaking” to see sites in ruins that had been rebuilt as part of recovery efforts after Hurricane Idalia.

“We were just out looking at five of the houses we rebuilt and they’re gone,” he said, looking down in a ringing voice.

“It’s just flat,” Grant said of the popular restaurant.

Daniella Silva reported from Steinhatchee and Alicia Victoria Lozano reported from Los Angeles.