St. Petersburg residents consider moving following damage from Hurricane Helene

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Petersburg residents are considering leaving their homes after Hurricane Helene.

“Some of us cry, some of us hug, and then we just put on our big girl panties and move on,” said St. Petersburg resident Debbie Bright.

Personal belongings are now scattered in front yards throughout the Tampa Bay area.

“Right now, everything I own is in a 5-by-10-foot storage unit,” Bright said.

The Lealman Fire District said one devastated area is the neighborhood along 42nd Avenue in St. Petersburg.

“I have four grandchildren and this is the only place they know and come to. And they cry because it was nanny and grandpa’s house,” Bright said.

Many homes had up to five feet of water inside during Hurricane Helene.

The Lealman Fire Department rescued 15 people in this area alone.

“Total shock…It’s like you’ve walked into a war zone. Total shock, total disbelief,” Bright said.

Bright said she stayed in Palm Harbor during the storm, but her neighbors say the storm surge came through her back door and washed much of her furniture into the bay.

“With the power of the water and wind that was here, from what we could see, it’s impossible. We would have been one of those victims,” ​​Bright said.

She is grateful to be alive, but says her house is a total loss.

“We’re on day seven here and when I got here this morning I sat in a chair and we cried and then we’re fine and we cry again,” Bright said.

Many St. Petersburg residents we spoke with said they were planning to move to avoid experiencing the devastation again.

“If you look around the neighborhood, it’s just a horrible sight. Total devastation,” said resident Alvena Tierney.

Tierney said her house had about two feet of water inside and she was going to try to repair it and stay in her neighborhood, but she said others weren’t so lucky.

“I suspect some are going to disappear and these huge houses are going to be built or condos,” Tierney said.

Bright said neighbors like Tierney have been supportive and she hopes her community recovers quickly.

“It’s kind of one hour at a time, one day at a time,” Bright said.