MATLACHA, Fla. — Calm water flowed under the Matlacha Bridge on Monday, but a few days ago, aggressive waves crashed onto the bridge from Hurricane Helene.
"I got a long way to go...doing this all again is a shock," Matlacha homeowner Cheri Boyd said as she began cleaning up her home.
Watch Fox 4 Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades' report below:
Boyd bought her home one month after Ian. She repaired it with new floors and everything, but two years later, she's doing it again.
"Pretty much nauseous when you're helpless, when you're watching your home be flooded," Boyd described how she felt when she heard from her neighbors about the storm.
She drove down from Illinois and started cleaning her driveway full of debris, sand and mud.
Only a few inches of water flooded her home, but her sun room saw the most damage with several feet of water.
Boyd said she knows hurricanes are a part of life here and to her, it's worth the risk of living in Florida.
"It's a chance to live in paradise," she added.
Boyd's neighbor, Keila Santiago, sent Boyd videos and checked on her house during the storm.
Santiago said she lost almost everything, including their car.
"It's pretty scary. We felt like we were in the middle of the ocean looking at the windows," Keila Santiago said. "All you can see was the waves."
A sight her daughter couldn't believe.
Santiago repeated what her daughter said, "She was like pinch me this doesn't feel real. I feel like I'm in a movie."
Santiago and Boyd walked Fox 4 Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades through their neighborhood where they met Sean.
He was salvaging what he could by laying it out his things to dry. It's something they're all too familiar with — trying to save what they own after a hurricane.
Santiago said all the work they did after Hurricane Ian and now Helene brings them back to square one.
"One step at a time. One day at a time. We don't have a choice," she added.
It's the second time they have to rebuild, but just like last time, they said this small fishing town will come together to help each other.
"All the neighbors who lost pretty much everything in their house were having a party," Boyd said. "They were laughing, and I was like that's the kind of community that's left here, and they are great people."
The Greater Pine Island Alliance is looking for volunteers to help survivors and to clean up the island. Find more information here.
