GULFPORT, Fla. — Gulfport, Florida, may be small—but in the wake of Hurricane Debby, its sense of community proved to be mighty.
"I told my partner, I was like as soon as I saw posts on Facebook, I was like, 'I gotta get out there,'" said boater Ryan Meadows.
Meadows sold the boat he used to keep out in the area's marina on Friday.
But Monday, in the aftermath of the storm, he was right back out on the water helping others recover their boats and lost items.
"A lot of people out here helped me with my boat. I mean, I bought her. She was in rough shape. They helped me put her back together," he said.
Many boats in the waters around Gulfport drifted to the shoreline during the storm, and some of them even crashed into each other.
However, that damage wasn't just confined to the shoreline. On land, we saw lawn items strewn about, flooded streets, and stalled-out cars.
But even amid all this, many credit the community for keeping things from being worse than they could have been.
"Everybody's a team; We work together. I got a trailer. We get a hundred sandbags, we go to each other's houses, and we try to prep," said Bobby Canning, who lives in the area.
And Canning wouldn't have things any other way.
"I love it here. I'm staying. I'm not leaving, I'm not going back to [New] Jersey. Forget it. No! Ain't going back to [New] Jersey," he laughed.
As clean-up continues, many are also preparing to help in the long haul.
"I mean, a lot of people got a lot of work ahead of them. And not just the people that own the boat but the people that are out here helping as well," said Meadows.
Monday, the community also worked to spread the word about a missing boater. Authorities confirmed he was sadly found deceased in his boat Tuesday morning.
According to the Gulfport Police Department, 48-year-old Brian J. Clough was last seen on his sailboat with his dog.
In a release, GPD said, "Mr. Clough anchored his sailboat approximate[ly] 50 feet from Gulfport's Veterans Park and was anchored there through Tropical Storm Debby."
On Monday morning, police said Clough's dog had been rescued from the partially sunken boat—but Clough still hadn't been found.
On Monday at 9:22 p.m., the Gulfport Police Department (GPD) confirmed that a body had been found during their search. GPD confirmed the body was Clough on Tuesday morning after his next of kin was notified.
His body was taken to the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office for further examination.
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