SIESTA KEY, Fla. — The damage from Hurricane Helene spans several miles of coastline in the Tampa Bay area. In some of the hardest hit areas like Siesta Key, residents have continued to grapple with the aftermath as clean-up and recovery efforts slowly kick into high gear throughout Sarasota County's coastal communities.
Public utilities, FDOT, and other construction crews are working to open some roads, including repairing a washed-out road in Manasota Key and clearing sand off roads in Casey Key. However, county leaders warn that despite the roads getting cleared up, people must limit travel to the barrier islands.
The gravity of Hurricane Helene's immense destruction has started to sink in for families impacted and those watching on the sidelines.
"I have lived here for 57 years and I have never seen anything like this. I've been through several hurricanes and this is just beyond catastrophic. As a native Floridian, it would bring tears to your eyes," Dewey Jones, a private contractor, said.
Long-time locals are in disbelief at how Hurricane Helene destroyed what's been known as paradise.
All over the coast, as sand piles continue to grow and line the streets, so do piles of personal belongings dumped out by impacted neighbors.
"It's crazy. You see all the debris on the road, all of the appliances, furniture, drywall, planks, and boards, and all that kind of stuff. Some of it all the way down to the village. You can break out a thesaurus and come up with a bunch of words to describe it. It's crazy," Steve Fluharty of Siesta Key said.
Several construction vehicles and heavy machinery also move into the area to do a bulk of the heavy lifting.
"Assessments for building structures, roadways, electrical, plumbing HVAC so it's not just something that's going to take place to be done six months or a year or two years. This is long-term. This is the long-term project that's going to take several years," Jones said.
The county has opened four 'Points of Distribution with Supplies' (PODS) in Siesta Key, Venice, Nokomis and Englewood.
"If you need assistance or you need any kind of flood, cleanup, kids or tarps of food and water or ice we have those available out in the community," Sandra Tapfumaneyi, chief of Sarasota County Emergency Management, said.
Alongside the PODS, a disaster relief center has also opened at Sarasota Christian Church on Ashton Road.
"You can meet face-to-face with FEMA to apply for assistance. Also, the small business administration has a business center set up there as well," Tapfumaneyi said.
Despite the devastation, some here say things could have been worse.
"I am glad I'm not in Chimney Rock, North Carolina. I mean as bad as it is here, no one expected the storm surge to be what it was and people have palm trees in their living rooms. You don't have to look very far to find someone worse off than yourself," Fluharty said.
Sarasota County Public Utilities staff are actively working to restore power to areas still without, but many homeowners may still need an electrician to get the lights back on.
Also, a boil water advisory has been lifted for some residents here in Siesta Key as well as Casey Key, but it remains in place for folks in Sanderling and Fisherman's Cove.