RUSKIN, Fla. (WFLA) — People who live along the Little Manatee River near US 41 woke up shocked at how quickly the storm surge rushed into their homes overnight from Hurricane Helene.
“It was bad. It was an experience I had never been through,” said Jason Thompson, who lives in Ruskin.
Thompson and his family tried to ride out the storm in their home but watched as the water started rapidly encroaching on their home.
“I was actually watching it come up on my boots, it was coming in so fast. It was like somebody taking a bucket of water and pouring it out,” Thompson said.
Several feet of water entered their home.
Now, the family is drying it out with fans and their belongings are sprawled out on their front yard as reality sets in.
“How does it feel looking at all this?” News Channel 8 reporter Staci DaSilva said.
“Sad. Sad,” Thompson said.
“That’s the water line going across the house there,” said Tom McGuire, who lives on US 41, while pointing at a watermark several feet up his home. “I come out, I see the water rising. Went in, moved two chairs off the porch. Before I got the two chairs in, woosh, it was here.”