The destruction caused by Hurricane Helene is escalating in Florida, revealing that an entire community has been annihilated by the storm.
Steinhatchee, a small town on Florida’s Gulf Coast, has been almost entirely obliterated after being struck with 140 mph winds and a 10-foot storm surge earlier this week.
Approximately 500 residents were evacuated from the town to make way for the hurricane. Now, returning locals are confronted with the reality that most homes and businesses have been decimated.
Donna Landon, who resided in a mobile home near Steinhatchee, expressed her devastation after finding her home utterly destroyed by the hurricane.
“We’ve been wiped off the map. There’s nothing left. I have some insurance but now I have to rebuild,” she told the New York Post.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t been touched by this. But this is a community where everyone looks out for each other.”
A local business hit hard by the storm is Roy’s Restaurant, which was flattened just nine months after reopening post-Hurricane Idalia in 2023. Despite the damage, owner Linda Wicker is determined to rebuild the establishment that has stood for 54 years on Steinhatchee’s riverbank.
Speaking to the Palm Beach Post, Wicker noted that although the restaurant has insurance, it’s ‘never enough’ to cover the total cost of the damage.
In a Facebook live update, the restaurant’s manager confirmed that all 30 employees were safe, stating: “The restaurant didn’t fare as well. But that’s all right. We’re thinking of our community and our employees, and everyone who is affected out there. We love them.”
Over 3 million people in the United States are currently without power, including those in Steinhatchee. With the town’s power grid completely destroyed, linemen from four nearby states have been dispatched to assist with a mission expected to take weeks as they ‘completely start from scratch.’
The overall death toll has reached at least 59 across South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia, leaving hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes.
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