PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Doug and Gay Van Fleet have been going nonstop since Hurricane Helene flooded their Hudson neighborhood.
They showed us pictures from inside their house as water tossed their furniture around and lifted the kitchen island, slamming it into the cabinets.
"Everything you own, if you didn't take it with you, was destroyed," said Doug.
WATCH Feedback wanted before Pasco County spends $585 million in disaster relief grant
Doug, a retired carpenter, is working on redoing their entire home himself. And helping neighbors.
"Our neighborhood is an area where we all help each other. I think the most difficult thing was that it was such an emergency that we had to focus on our own before we could help anybody else. And we really felt that," Gay said.
While people affected by the storm still work to recover, more money is on the way—a lot more.
Pasco County is getting a federal grant for disaster recovery totaling $585.7 million.
Officials say the money will be divided into six buckets: housing initiatives and repairs, infrastructure, and economic revitalization to help businesses.
Of that money, $76 million will go to mitigation to make the county safer and stronger going forward.
There are also funds for planning and public services.
"So far, we have over 200 projects that people have told us about, and it well exceeds the $585 million dollars. It will be difficult deciding on priorities, and it will be difficult deciding on transformational projects that are going to make a difference, but for the future," said Marcy Esbjerg, Pasco County's Disaster Recovery Manager and Senior Program Administrator.
There are several public workshops planned where people can give feedback.
Ultimately, the county commission will decide how the money is spent.
The Van Fleets aren't done fixing their home, and they hope to raise it up like their neighbor down the street.
Despite everything, they are doing what they can to stay here.
"It's a true..what we call a neighborhood. They're awesome. A great place to live," Doug said.
