SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Heather Robinson had to think fast.
She could only grab one bag as law enforcement rescued her by boat from her flooded home in Sarasota’s Pinecraft neighborhood.
“It was scary,” she said. “The water was getting higher and higher.”
Robinson is one of roughly 500 people rescued in Sarasota County after historic rainfall from Hurricane Debby overwhelmed local creeks and streams and quickly flooded cars and homes.
“It was so quick!” Robinson said. “It was just like — one minute you say, ‘Oh, the rain is getting kinda high.’ And then, like, five minutes later, you’re walking around in your house.”
Robinson guesses she lost just about everything she left in her home, including some important tools she needs as a cosmetologist.
“My whole bag of every item I cut hair with – destroyed,” she said.
John Wagner lost mostly everything, too. He lives not far from Robinson and thinks the community will need aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“I’m sitting here. I’m stupefied. I don’t know what to do,” Wagner said solemnly.
Robinson, meanwhile, is still clinging to optimism.
“I just — I know in my heart I’ll be alright, and it may turn out to be a gift. It may turn out something wonderful — like if this had never happened, an opportunity would have never been shown,” she said.
Sarasota County’s emergency shelter for those impacted by Debby is located at Sarasota Technical College. If you need a ride there, call 311.
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