Communities in Florida hit by three hurricanes in last 13 months vow to rebuild

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – A single landfall hurricane It has the potential to build a community for years to come. Many small communities in Florida’s Big Bend have witnessed not one, not two, but three landfill hurricanes in the past 13 months.

It starts with Hurricane Idalia in 2023, then Hurricane Debby in August, and now Hurricane Helene-To say that the people living on Florida’s Nature Coast are tired and truly worn out would be an understatement.

This is enough to make many people throw up their arms, give up, and move somewhere else. But the people living in these small, quaint communities won’t go down without a fight.

It’s easy to focus on doom and gloom. You don’t want to sugar coat it either.

Plain and simple: Hurricane Helene is a devastating and devastating storm.

More than 40 people have lost their lives so far, and thousands have damaged or even destroyed houses. But what does not disappear is the spirit of the people who have weathered yet another storm.

“Can I help you?” asked Linda Evans of After Hours Coffee in Perry, Florida.

The store is located in the small town just over an hour away from Tallahassee.

Evans opened his shop on Friday as if it were an ordinary, sunny day.

“This is my retirement hobby,” he said. “I had a job. I didn’t want another job. “I wanted something I enjoyed doing.”

Linda lives in the cafe next door to her house. The place where customers sit and sip their coffee is actually his living room.

It’s also where he hid during Hurricane Helene.

“You could hear it,” he said. “Part of the side of the building came off there.”

Even though Helene destroyed part of her house, this could never take away her positivity.

Gage Goulding: “Do you feel lucky about this?”

Linda Evans: “No, I feel blessed. That’s up to God. It has nothing to do with luck.”

A few towns over, they don’t know each other but live a similar life.

“I’m here all day, every day,” said Anna Davis, owner of Daylight Salon and Spa. “(A) hairdresser’s life.”

Davis spent the day sweeping up what was left of his glass display case.

“The windows couldn’t stand it,” he said KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding.

It rained inside his living room for hours. Mud has now accumulated on the walls.

His shop was ruined again.

Gage Goulding: “This is not the first hurricane to hit the area,” he said.

AnnaDavis: “So, this is our third in 13 months.”

But he was still out there to start cleaning while developing an idea to open up even a few hours after the wind had died down.

“I just have to try to survive and rebuild and start over,” Davis said.

This is what both Anna and Linda have in common: an infectiously positive outlook on life’s most difficult moments.

“We cannot change nature. I just have to face it,” Davis said. “Be strong, tomorrow will come again.”

“I believe in God Almighty,” Evans added. “And it either protects you or it doesn’t. The smallest damage I had was him taking care of what I had and protecting what I had.”