TAMPA, Fla. — The pier at Ballast Point is barricaded from visitors with rolls of caution tape over metal grates with locks after Hurricane Helene wrecked it, leaving the walkway inaccessible.
Video shows the wood ripped from the bottom and sides of the 600-foot pier, with debris scattered all over. Some of the planks that weren't ripped off look like they were pulled and appear wavy. Chunks of wood are currently lying on the pier along with palm leaves.
Ballast Point Park is on the east coast of South Tampa and features a view of downtown.
The fishing pier that is usually open 24/7 is now closed as it is too dangerous to walk on.
This part of Tampa shows the strength of the Category 4 storm that didn't even directly hit the Bay Area.
One resident of the area, Matthew Cole, said in an Instagram Threads post that this was the worst flooding he has seen in the more than 10 years he has lived there.
"Throughout the night, many, many neighborhood car alarms were going, upon being swamped by seawater," the post read.
Dana Gordon, president of the Ballast Point Neighborhood Association, told 10 Tampa Bay that it was the worst flooding she had seen on MacDill Avenue.
The hurricane brought record-breaking storm surge to the area as it made landfall in the Big Bend region last week. All across the area, residents saw fallen trees, downed power lines and hundreds of calls for service to law enforcement and fire rescue agencies.