I can’t believe I am posting this picture again. So soon after Hurricane Ian, Idalia and Debby. This is just devasting. The Tampa bay area got so much damage from Hurricane Helene this past week mostly coming from storm surge. Pinellas County has water on 3 sides (the gulf leading into the bay) and no house near the water was spared. So much flooding. The hurricane wasn’t even a direct hit but the storm surge was the highest on record.
Brett and I moved 3 years ago from a house on the water (in the bay) to farther inland. We were so blessed to only have tons of yard debris. Above is a 3rd of our debris pile in the driveway and more across the street. We are still cleaning up. We did not get any flooding in our neighborhood.
Over the weekend I was out running errands and stopped by my favorite walking places. The Dunedin marina was my first stop and the pier there was destroyed. The marina was blocked off so we couldn’t get close. It’s interesting the dolphin statue on top of the concrete base was still standing. The hotel next door was flooded and they were trying to get the sand out of the rooms and were pulling out carpet and furniture.
Lots of debris and damaged docks in the marina. Many of the boats were missing. Some got pulled out onto trailers the day before but some were found stranded farther down near Clearwater Beach.
The tall condo building next to the marina lost both of their docks.
My next stop was the Safety Harbor marina and fishing pier. They had minimal damage with only a small portion of the dock damaged.
The beloved fishing pier where the manatees hang out was gone. It had recently been closed due to minimal damage from Hurricane Debby in August.
The next morning I stopped by the Oldsmar pier, 10 minutes from my house. The pier was still there but was closed. It had a lot of missing planks and the end had come off. All of the houses in the neighborhoods nearby were flooded out.
This fun boat was a decoration in front of a seafood restaurant. The restaurant was badly damaged and I saw the boat much farther down the street.
The front yard the night after the hurricane.
All of this damage above is insignificant to what happened to the coastal areas. The beach areas have been closed for days but the videos and news coverage is heartbreaking. All of the beach areas, Davis Islands, Harbor Islands and neighborhoods along the bay were damaged. As you drive through neighborhoods all of the houses have furniture, rugs, carpet, cabinets, dry wall, etc piled high on the curbs.
Pictures of the beach from Bay News 9 here.
The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is a wild bird rescue that is on the beach. They rescue and rehabilitate thousands of birds every year. Their facility took a big hit. I swiped the below shot from their facebook page. They could really use donations to rebuild and can be made here.
Sadly this storm did not end with us and continued to reek havoc north into North Carolina. Brett’s nephew and his girlfriend live in Ashville and we did not have contact with them until yesterday morning. They are safe but downtown Ashville has been wiped out. And, there’s another storm brewing in the gulf again.
It is always frightening to see what the forces of nature can do!
Holy moly
It is sad. I did not hear much about Dunedin or Clearwater, so this is good info. A few months ago, we took friends to the Dunedin Marina and walked around Safety Harbor. In SE TN, we only had rain, but near the NC border and in the mountain area, flooding and landslide caused major destruction.
One picture is worth a thousand words and you have provided so much. Saw this post at at Senior-Salon-Pit-Stop-# 330. My shares are #59 through 63. Keep safe and I’m sending healing energy and love to your community. Nancy Andres @ Colors 4 Health
Dina I’m so sorry about all of this. The words on your poster in the first picture are the best thing I’ve ever read to express my feelings. I linked to this post in my own recent post (from Oregon). Hope that is OK. I had written about the hurricane a little bit at the end of mine, but hadn’t published yet. When I looked at your post this morning I wanted to save it forever. So I put in the link to yours for my own sake as well as anyone who reads my little blog. I always want to remember what you said. It really is possible to be both grateful and heartbroken and we are. Thank you for all of that and I hope the area recovers and there are no more “events” anywhere in Florida. Sallie
Saw the destruction on the news. Good to know you are relatively not adversely affected. Take care.
Grateful and heartbroken is a great expression to use in these circumstances. So sorry for the pain and loss for many. Grateful for those spared and the lives spared in the midst.
Forgot to say I popped over from Sallie’s blog. My blog is The Happy Wonderer.
I am glad you didn’t get flooded out. So sorry for those who lost their homes and worse.
Yes, there are terrible scenes. The destructive power of nature is a phenomenon. In 2015, a tornado swept through our town. It was devastating. It was a miracle that no one was injured. The fire department did the clean-up work. Some repairs took over 2 years…
…all the best, my thoughts are with you and those affected.
Hello,
It is so sad to see all the destruction from Helene. You made a good decision to move a little further from the coast. Sending prayers to all those affected by this terrible storm.
Cool.
Sad and eye-opening to see all the destruction. Thank you for this very informative post that contributes significantly to our understanding not only of the storm’s impact but also of climate change as the oceans heat up. You were wise to have moved further inland.