St. Petersburg residents are considering moving from their homes after Hurricane Helene.
“Some of us cry, some of us hug each other, and then we just put our big girl panties on and keep going,” said Debbie Bright, a resident in St. Petersburg.
Belongings are now scattered in front yards all over the Tampa Bay Area.
“Right now, everything I own is in a 5-by-10-foot storage unit,” said Bright.
Lealman Fire District said one area that is devastated is the neighborhood along 42nd Avenue in St. Petersburg.
“I have four grandchildren and this is the only place they’ve ever known and they come in. And they are crying because this was nanny and papi’s house,” said Bright.
Many of the homes had up to five feet of water inside during Hurricane Helene.
Lealman Fire Department rescued 15 people in that neighborhood alone.
“Total shock…It like you walked into a war zone. Total shock, total disbelief,” said Bright.
Bright said she stayed in Palm Harbor during the storm, but her neighbors say the storm surge came through her backdoor and pulled much of her furniture into the bay.