TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. (WFLA) — On Sunset Beach in Treasure Island, a contractor is working to remove tons of sand washed onto streets and into homes by Hurricane Helene.
The National Guard is going door to door in the neighborhood, handing out food and water. Residents are working hard to clean up their homes.
For some, there is a new problem. One that makes their future in Sunset Beach uncertain.
Treasure Island has tagged many homes in the area that have substantial damage.
25 Floridians dead from Hurricane Helene Kevin McAndrew, the Director of Building and Development Review Services, said homes with more than 49% damage will have to be rebuilt to new county and FEMA standards.
“That will generally mean that a home will have to be elevated or it would have to be demolished and rebuilt,” McAndrew said.
However, he said the county goal is to keep people in their homes.
“If a home is substantially damaged, that does not mean that a resident or a family has to be removed, or has to leave their home,” McAndrew said.
However, some Sunset Beach residents said the new building standards will be just too costly for them to stay.
“We had an estimate, on our units, and it was a quarter million to raise it to standard and we just don’t have that kind of money,” Tom Lance said.
‘I have nowhere else to go’: Senior residents living in unsafe conditions after Helene Other homeowners have had estimates that are substantially higher to raise their homes.
Lance is worried how this will change his community.
“Well, it’s going to change. I mean, it’s going to change the whole feel, it’s going to kick a lot of the old Floridians out that can’t afford to elevate,” Lance said.
Jean Colaianni said because of the sand piled on her street, she can’t even get contractors in to do an assessment of her home.
“As far as the 49%, since we are not able to get people in here and there is such a backlog of the adjusters doing their work, we’re not even going to know what the damage looks like for some time, so we are going to have to plan a number of different strategies, so when the time comes we know what to do,” Colaianni said.
McAndrew said they will do what they can to work with homeowners who are impacted by Helene.
“Our goal is to keep residents in their homes,” he said.
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