Helene landed Thursday night in Florida's Taylor County as a Category 4 hurricane. A man in Steinhatchee said he heard "a constant loud roar" for hours, as the invasive storm surge and the pounding rain caused widespread devastation in the Gulf coastal community. The force tossed boats like toys.
In Taylor County's Perry, dozens of residents with a working car, gas, and access to clear roads waited in line on Saturday morning near semi-trailer trucks full of aid by a Convoy of Hope , a disaster relief organization founded in California and based in Missouri.
"Stores are shut down, power is out. It's a tough life right now," said Ethan Forhetz, of Convoy of Hope .
At least 52 deaths and billions in property damage were attributed to Helene in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The victims included a mother and her 1-month-old twin babies.
Many residents who did not evacuate coastal communities said they still didn't have cell service or electricity on Saturday. Michael Presley Bobbitt, a novelist, said entire houses had vanished in Levy County's Cedar Key, an island city off the northwest coast of Florida.
