Hurricane Helene, a category 4 storm, unleashed its fury Thursday, causing significant damages. It made landfall near Perry, Florida late that night, leaving tremendous destruction in its wake. The Florida Gulf coast - Bradenton, Longboat Key, Anna Maria, the Tampa Bay area, Cedar Key, Steinhatchee - bear the brunt of it. This morning reports are coming in with pictures of historic flooding and landslides in the foothills of TN and NC. It is heartbreaking to see so much devastation. CNN mentioned that at least 45 people were killed across five states. You can read more here.
To add insult to injury, many beaches and homes were rebuilt just last year! Storm surges are the scariest, as you can see in these videos below. The first is of Cedar Key, the second on Steinhatchee. We never stopped at Steinhatchee, but many cruisers, especially those who do the Great Loop, stop there as they cruise from Mobile Bay to Florida.
Just last week we were in the Florida Panhandle and had driven to Apalachicola for lunch, stopping at Mexico Beach. Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm, had devastated the area back in 2018. We were happy to see the rebuilding of the small town coming together nicely. Beaches were restored with the planting of sea oats to protect the dunes from future storms and erosion.
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At Apalachicola, we ambled around town to find many businesses closed, likely due to Covid. Our favorite place, The Seafood Grill, is now a different restaurant. We settled for Hole in the Wall where we had fabulous fried oysters and shrimp.
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Fried oysters and hush puppies |
Our next stop was St George Island State Park. Dr Beach selected this beach to be number 1 beach in America last year, and we are not surprised. Miles of undeveloped beaches with fine white sand beckoned us to swim in the inviting warm waters of the Gulf. A yellow flag was flying indicating medium hazard; the slight breeze felt wonderful. Visions of the Cape Cod National Seashore danced in my mind when I saw the wind swept dunes.
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| Sand dunes |
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| Nice facilities with restrooms, showers and pavilions for picnics |
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| Cape St George Light |
Shocking is an understatement. OMG, what happened here? We later learned that it was a tornado's doing. Which is even scarier because you never know where it's going to hit.
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| View from the beach |
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| Schooners |
No doubt lives have been changed. We pray people are safe and hope for the best.
This post is shared on Skywatch Friday and Through My Lens.
I had also heard about the bad storm and it is really very bad and especially for the relatives who have to miss their family and yes hurricanes are also very dangerous and judging from the photo it had also been there. They are so powerful that no house can withstand them. I also hope that many were able to get to safety and are doing well. Watch out when you go somewhere and also check the weather there. Nice to see at your last stop how wind can make some of those beautiful sand dunes. The pictures and your blog were again interesting to read and watch. Wish you beautiful days and for now happy continuation of this evening and for tomorrow also a nice day.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, Tine. Nature is amazing and people are resilent. Almost two weeks later, another hurricane (Milton) is headed our way Wednesday. Crazy weather.
DeleteSad to see so much of destruction.
ReplyDeleteAmazing photos of that leaning house.
ReplyDeleteIt just seems that the storms are getting worse.
ReplyDeleteLife goes on! Great and very narrative images.
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to all those affected and horrible to know that so many people remain unaccounted for. Those photos of the homes just toppled to their sides is unbelievable. Thank you for sharing this with us. Stay safe. Wren x
ReplyDeleteJust when we thought Europe is safe from the storms like we're having, we learned that Hurricane Kirk is battering the UK and France! And this Wed, Hurricane Milton is headed towards the entire Florida peninsula! We are hunkering down and hoping for the best.
DeleteSuch a heartbreaking post. It's hard to imagine the devastation from Hurricane Helene, especially in places that were just starting to rebuild. My heart goes out to everyone affected. It’s so scary how unpredictable these storms can be, especially with both hurricanes and tornadoes hitting close together. Hoping for safety and recovery for all involved.
ReplyDeleteA cousin who live on a canal had her home flooded. We drove by her neighborhood a few days ago. It sure was heartbreaking to see the street lined with damaged furniture and stuff from the flooding. Just as the recovery is beginning, another hurricane (Milton) is heading our way this Wednesday :-( Preparing to hunker down and hoping it's not as bad as Helene.
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