‘Nervous for this neighborhood’: Sarasota residents dread Tropical Storm Helene

SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Many residents in Sarasota say they’re dreading Tropical Storm Helene as they continue to recover from catastrophic flooding last month.

“I’m nervous for this neighborhood,” Jennifer Paden said. “It’s been devastating to watch. Every single house has been ripped out. It’s just devastating.”

Several neighbors from the Laurel Meadows neighborhood were forced to evacuate their homes during Hurricane Debby with high water levels that lingered for several days.

“I was not prepared to do something like this,” Bruce Troyer said. “Rebuilding my house after I’m semi-retired. Mentally, physically, and emotionally.”

“I still cry,” Carol Myers said. “Once in a while, somebody is nice to me and they say, ‘Oh, I feel badly for you’ and they give me a hug. I get very teary eyed still.”

“You don’t know where your life is at the moment,” Myers said. “Even though you know where you are, you know where your memories are and that’s a very tough thing.”

Myers is still living in a nearby hotel with her family while her home is undergoing reconstruction.

According to FEMA, Floridians who sustained loss from Hurricane Debby have two weeks remaining to apply for federal assistance.

“FEMA was there very quickly,” Myers said. “However, FEMA cannot give you as much as you need, not even as much or even an iota of what you need.”

To date, federal funding for assistance to households, low-interest disaster loans and flood insurance includes:

• $25.4 million in FEMA grants to 7,160 households
• $14.6 million in U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans
• $26.4 million in National Flood Insurance Program payments

For more information about FEMA assistance, click here .

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