TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — With streets still lined with sand and debris, people were just starting to recover from Hurricane Helene in Treasure Island when word of Hurricane Milton arrived.
Lifelong resident Jenna Arnal said she had never experienced a one-two punch like this one.
“Never ever. We’ve always obviously respected hurricanes, but we’ve never really taken it very seriously until the last one,” she said.
Arnal decided to ride out Helene, a decision she quickly came to regret.
“The water just kept rising, cars were floating away, houses were catching on fire. It was really scary,” Arnal said.
Police closed the bridge to Treasure Island and other barrier island communities at 7 p.m. Tuesday, but residents were still able to leave.
Treasure Island Mayor Tyler Payne urged people to do so after Hurricane Helene’s deadly example.
Four people were killed due to the storm surge and other weather-related causes, in part because first responders couldn’t get there during the storm, the mayor said.
Some neighbors sent panicked messages to the mayor.
“People saying, ‘hey, this house down the street from me is on fire,’ and I’m like, ‘there’s nothing I can do,’” Payne said.
The storm surge also carried tons of sand on shore that took days for crews to remove from city streets.
Debris removal was underway when Hurricane Milton was observed, bringing recovery operations to a standstill.
Now, when Milton arrives much of the debris will still be on the island. But, Arnal says she won’t be.
“All we can do is prep and then pray for the best. There’s no other words,” Arnal said.