This Tampa neighborhood didn’t flood. Then came Hurricane Helene.

TAMPA — From a distance, it looked for a moment like another community flea market was taking place in the tight-knit Culbreath Bayou neighborhood Monday morning. Sofas and tables were piled along the side of the road next to paintings and toys.

As you get closer, the abstract gives way to reality: Hurricane Helene’s tidal wave swallowed this part of South Tampa, triggering what longtime residents called “unprecedented flooding.” Now they filled their driveways with sodden heirlooms and hauled away storm-damaged furniture.

Culbreath Bayou sits squarely in Evacuation Zone A, near Sunset Park, Beach Park and other enclaves that are increasingly vulnerable to flooding. Still, residents of the neighborhood, which lies between West Shore Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue, say Helene dealt an unexpected blow.

Judy Whitson has lived in her home for 26 years and has never had a flood.

Now the contaminated contents of her garage and first floor were piled in her yard, including the small bicycles her grandchildren rode down the street. Her front door was inoperable because it was warped by the water. The power was out. The pool was filled with lime green mud. Crews were out tearing out their floors and drywall.

“I just didn’t think this kind of damage was possible here,” said Whitson, 60. Three of four houses on her cul-de-sac were flooded.

Down the street, Bonnie and Josh Saterbo were taking a break from their cleanup. They moved to the neighborhood about five years ago and renovated their “dream home” during the pandemic. The work was completed in January.

“Now we have to start all over again,” said Bonnie Saterbo, 36.

Helene cruised for hours off Tampa Bay, destroying thousands of homes, businesses and boats along Florida’s Gulf Coast. At least 11 people in the area died. More than 1,000 people had to be rescued.

Here, in this community without a single sidewalk, known for its Easter egg hunts and Halloween decorations, residents knew they were in luck. Households could generally afford renovations and replacing furniture.

Still, the messy aftermath had raised so many questions: Renovate? Build the house higher off the ground? Move?

“We are so lucky. But you have to ask yourself: Is this the 100-year flood? Or is this the new normal?” said Bonnie Saterbo.

Few answers were immediately apparent, but at least, they said, neighbors banded together and moved forward together. Those who had power washed clothes for those who had no power. In one house there was coffee and donuts. Local businesses distributed children’s clothing and grocery bags.

“That’s why we don’t want to leave,” said Josh, 36. “This is our community.”

On Monday, the smell of mold wafted through the tree-lined streets. Trucks and supply vehicles rumbled past, dodging the oak branches and palm fronds outside waiting to be picked up. Piles of dirty mattresses and cupboards, books and treadmills.

Paula Hall, 69, stood in front of her home of more than two decades and sighed. While some Culbreath Bayou residents followed evacuation orders, she did not.

“This was the first time I didn’t feel the need to leave,” she said, adding that she checked the weather forecasts and thought the winds didn’t look too bad. Plus, her house had never flooded.

From her second-story window, she watched her street fill with water late Thursday night.

“It happened so quickly,” she said. “It only took about 15 minutes.”

Soon it came up her driveway. Then to her home.

“Just think, it wasn’t even a direct hit,” she said, above the loud clatter of workers tearing up her destroyed cypress wood floors, an original from the 1960s. She lost brand new appliances and old carpets. Her daughter, four blocks away, also lost everything.

Across the street, Allen Banks threw away a sodden box of family photos.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he said.

With that, he disappeared into his house to collect more belongings that had been flooded by the storm and put them on the curb.

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