HUDSON, Fla. — As residents in Hudson continue the long road to recovery after Hurricane Helene, another home was destroyed in one devastated neighborhood on Tuesday.
“Welcome to the apocalypse once you come down over 19. This is awful,” said Melissa Pink.
Bob Walker’s car, trailer, and race car weren’t damaged, but the house they are next to started to burn Tuesday morning, sending emergency vehicles scrambling to get through the storm debris to Kathleen Drive.
“We just happen to come out and see what’s going on. And it’s holy ****! We are parked there,” said Walker.
Although the cause of the fire is not known yet, it happened as electrical crews worked to restore power to this community.
“You feel bad for anybody that got five feet of water. I have an elevated house, so it’s just storage downstairs, so you aren’t losing everything like these guys do. Now, that elevated house really lost everything because of the fire. Maybe it has nothing to do with the flood. It could have everything,” said Walker.
With the fire burning, FEMA crews were a few blocks away, going door to door.
Maureen Ott said she’s spent the last few days cleaning and disinfecting after the storm surge came through.
“We had four feet of water coming down the street. And it just goes where it wants. It has a mind of its own,” said Ott.
So many people here are still without the basics including power. Pink said she is also desperate for information. (FEMA information can be found here.)
“We’ve really had nothing for the past couple of days. FEMA is finally coming around and talking to us. But the county hasn’t really provided much information,” said Pink. “It’s a mess. Our lives are all out on the streets."
