HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. – It’s been a week and a half since Hurricane Idalia barreled through Florida’s Big Bend region as a powerful Category 3 storm, with winds up to 125 miles an hour and a storm surge of over 10 feet in some coastal areas.
The state on Thursday reported the third death connected to the storm.
The Florida Medical Examiner’s Commission noted a 90-year-old man in Dixie County died after a tree fell on his tractor as he was cleaning up. Other deaths were reported in Alachua and Brevard County.
Despite visits from Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden, residents in the hardest hit areas along the Gulf Coast said they still need help rebuilding.
MORE | Here’s how to help victims of Hurricane Idalia
Coastal towns in Florida’s Big Bend are still a mess: miles of destruction and streets full of debris.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, power companies listed 8,773 customers without electricity in Dixie, Taylor, Suwannee, Madison and Lafayette Counties. Fishing villages like Steinhatchee, Cedar Key, Keaton Beach and Horseshoe Beach were among the hardest hit.
“We are trying to get the power back on, the water...I’ve got a generator but it’s a nightmare,” said Horseshoe Beach resident Jim Johnson. “Nobody calls us back. Our rental (home) is gone.”
News4JAX met Horseshoe Beach residents Jim and Sally Johnson during the Hurricane as we sheltered together in an inland part of the county. At the time, Jim just had surgery for colon cancer. Their home, which they’ve lived in for about a year, is intact but damaged. They’re staying on a friend’s couch and hoping for a FEMA trailer to live in temporarily.
The Johnsons said they haven’t received any help from their insurance company or federal assistance. Many of their neighbors weren’t insured at all because rates were too high.
“It’s kicking our butt financially,” Johnson said. “[We’re using] credit cards and things to get stuff done.”
Blocks away, fishing guide Hope Reinke is taking things day by day. The bottom part of her home was ripped away in the storm surge. Some of her neighbor’s homes were ripped off their foundations. A few are gone completely.
“There’s been a lot of improvements, a lot of cleaning up. We have a company, I think out of Georgia, that has the box trucks with the boom on it, and they’ve come to here, and they’ve been picking up piles, and all of its volunteers, so that helps us a lot,” she said, with a grateful attitude.
She too is waiting for word from her insurance company and FEMA, and for now, is tapping into her limited savings. She’s able to live in the top part of her home, but it doesn’t have utilities. She and other residents are clinging to GoFundMe and other donations.
“So I’m living with a generator, and my friends from Gainesville brought me a portable air conditioner,” she said, choking up with emotion. “So I have air at night...and it’s so comfortable. I mean, I didn’t think I could cry anymore. But you get overwhelmed.”
Overwhelmed with support.
“They’re strangers, but when they leave, they are family,” she said of the people who have come in to help.
There is a lot of good for people to be thankful for.
The fire station in Horseshoe Beach is filled with donated food, water, and supplies. Nonprofits are helping with meals, guidance and advice.
There are also problems.
The Dixie County Sheriff’s Office has arrested several people suspected of looting. They recently arrested two residents riding through the town at night with an empty U-Haul.
Still, residents said they’ve seen many more positives than negatives in the wake of such a devastating storm.