CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. — Crystal River was hard hit after Hurricane Idalia a year ago. Now families there are preparing for what could possibly be significant storm surge with Hurricane Helene.
The range of emotions ahead of another storm varies for Karla and Robert Powell.
"Right now, exhaustion because I was up late packing stuff, and I did not sleep obviously last night,” said Karla. “Sadness will probably set in once we get on the road."
For Robert, it's frustration.
"I've been in Florida all my life. I've responded to a lot of hurricanes, so I'm kind of used to how it affects me or other people, but when it's your contents, it's definitely on a different level,” said Robert.
Families hope it's not déjà vu after Hurricane Idalia last year caused severe flooding near their home in Crystal River.
The Powells had almost three feet of water in the house and lost 90 percent of their belongings. Their backyard practically turned into a lake.
“We lifted everything on cinder blocks with Debby just in case, and we knew when they said the storm surge for this, the potential storm surge, we knew there’s no way we could lift everything high enough, so we’re just getting what we can out, the little bit we’ve rebuilt out,” said Karla.
ABC Action News caught up with the Powell family as they loaded up a U-Haul Wednesday afternoon, moving everything that they can out of their house and putting it in a storage unit.
Families down the road had the same idea.
"In one split second, one 24-hour period, you have nothing,” said Kathryn Christmas.
Christmas moved belongings out of her rental home, also sealing up doors and windows as a precaution.
As they prepare for what's to come, the team of helpers in their neighborhood is proof that this community sticks together through any storm.
"We have the basketball team helping us. Everybody in Crystal River pitches in for everybody else," said Christmas. "I sent out a group text saying hey whoever can come from the team, the Christmas family needs your help, and all the parents and all the kids were like I've got to help my parents, I've got to help my grandparents. That's okay because when we're done here, guess where we're going to go? We're going to go help them. That's what you do. It's a community."
