JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Hurricane Matthew caused severe damage in The Sanctuary neighborhood in Jacksonville Beach, with many of the homes seeing 1 to 2 inches of water.
The area was still unrecognizable Monday as repair crews and landscapers filled the streets. An auditor was also speaking with residents of the tight-knit community about their next options.
"We had a remediation company come in and they suctioned everything up. But there's still a lot more," said Kim Popovich, a resident of The Sanctuary.
Popovich's home is just one of many in The Sanctuary that is now far from a place of safety or refuge after Hurricane Matthew hit Friday.
"There was water everywhere. You were sweeping in water and your shoes were sticking to it and you could see the water. It had already dissipated but there was still water soaked in the carpeting and all the rugs," Popovich said.
Seventy-two hours after water from the Intracoastal Waterway rushed through windows, doors and garages during the storm, rugs, molding and flooring could be seen piled at least 5 feet high at the end of every driveway.
While the entire community is fighting a battle to recover from the historic storm, Popovich's battle began earlier this year when she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
"I'm almost done with my chemotherapy," Popovich said. "I did not need this. I lost my mom in June and it's been a really rough year."
But her neighbors have come to her side. The home that she thought she would be salvaging alone has been filled with people who want to help pick up the pieces for her and their community.
"The community is fantastic. Everyone is so wonderful. A lady who lives next door to me and moved back out in 2002 just showed back up this morning to help pack some things up. I haven't seen her since 2002. So there are really good people here in Northeast Florida," Popovich said.
One couple's home in The Santuary took a major hit, forcing them to move out temporarily after having lived there for more than two decades.
"This came from the Intracoastal and the gentleman who lives one cul-de-sac over said he was on the second floor of his house and he was looking out taking pictures towards the Intracoastal and then this wall of water came between two houses. He estimated 7 to 8 feet high, hit his house and the whole house shook. And he said the worst decision he made was to stay and he says he'll never do that again," said Rick and Cathy Halter.
Some neighbors decided to stick out the storm, while many others evacuated. But when they returned to assess the damage from Hurricane Matthew, they said it was apparent that nothing would be the same.
At the home where the Halters have lived for 23 years, restoration workers have begun gutting out the damp floors and removing drywall.
It's a process that's expected to take several months, but the Halters consider themselves fortunate.
"We just feel like we're lucky because we got out. Like everyone said we should then we came back and it's a mess. But, you know what, in three to six months we'll be having a hurricane party," Rick and Cathy Halter said.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Sanctuary residents make repairs to their homes that sustained massive damage in the storm.