ST. JAMES CITY, Fla. — More than three feet of water blocked off several streets in St. James City Thursday, but the following morning the water receded and the community began to assess the damage.
Larry Jinks stood from his porch Thursday and talked with Fox 4 Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades as she stood in the three feet of water surrounding his home.
Last month, they lifted his home seven feet right in time for Hurricane Helene.
The difference a day can make.
Fox 4 checked in with him Friday. He's also the pastor at First Baptist Church down the street from where he lives.
"We've got a lot of neighbors that are suffering. They're underwater. We we've trying to help them out," Larry Jinks said.
Watch Fox 4's Ella Rhoades report below:
Hurricane Helene gave the church a small set back, after they completed almost all of their renovations from Hurricane Ian two years ago.
With a leaky ceiling, slippery floors, these fans working overtime to dry out from the storm.
He said, "There's a lot of people out there that's hurting. They're three or four feet underwater. Our heart breaks for them, because my wife and I, we've been here for 13 years. We've gone through that before, and we understand how helpless you feel going through that."
Ten inches of water marking the walls of the church, Jinks knows it nothing they cant fix.
"There's nothing that can happen to us that can discourage us. We're going to go forward. This is just a little water. We'll get it dried," Jinks said.
Bill Wolfe belongs to Jink's congregation and is also his neighbor.
He said he's not discouraged from a little water either.
"After Ian, it taught me that hurricanes aren't all created equal," Bill Wolfe said.
For twenty years, he's lived in the same house in St. James City and has seen a lot of hurricanes from Charley, Wilma, Irma to Ian.
He said they had three feet of storm surge at least come in from the canal behind their house, but no flooding inside this time.
Late Thursday night, he and his wife chose to sleep at their neighbors which sits several feet higher than theirs.
His neighbors weren't as lucky. Wolfe checked on their homes for them since they're not in town and saw several inches of water in each one.
When asked if he considered raising his home like Jinks he said it's a giant chunk of change he doesn't know if he wants to spend.
"I'm 81-years-old, but I was going to leave the house the boys," Wolfe said.
Overall, Wolfe said he is grateful Hurricane Helene wasn't any worse.
"Fortunate. Blessed," he added, "Good Lord willing, I'm a die on this street, but I'm not ready."
And...Wolfe doesn't plan to leave his home or community anytime soon.
Most of the water on Pine Island receded Friday afternoon. First Baptist Church in St. James City has not yet decided if they will have Sunday Service due to the storm damage.
