A small gulf island that is a popular tourist attraction has been decimated after Hurricane Helene devastated Florida.
Cedar Key was hit by the force of the Category 4 hurricane when it struck the small island, which sits less than 10 feet above sea level in Levy County.
Michael Bobbitt, 48, was among those who decided to stay behind.
“We feel pretty let down here in Cedar Key. When we fought this at night, as bad as we thought it would be, it’s much worse in the daylight.
“Cedar Key as we know it is completely gone,” he said The New York Times.
‘Entire houses have been picked up and moved. To reach them we had to go through three feet of water. The post office has been destroyed.’
When residents staying on the island woke up Friday morning, they discovered that the island had been bare by the wind and that there was debris in the streets.
The storm made landfall on Thursday, bringing a storm surge that reportedly hit the small island in the Gulf of Mexico by five feet. Workers were busy digging through the rubble on Friday
Debris is left behind at a flooded store after the storm hit Cedar Key Thursday evening
‘Several restaurants have been destroyed. The Jiffy Food Store is destroyed. Vehicles are destroyed and turned upside down. Everything is impassable. It looks like an atomic bomb has exploded.’
The storm made landfall on Thursday, bringing a storm surge that reportedly hit the small island in the Gulf of Mexico by five feet.
When residents staying on the island woke up Friday morning, they discovered that the island had been bare by the wind and that there was debris in the streets.
He added: “All those people who have left are keen to hear about their homes. I am delivering the most devastating news they have ever received in their lives.”
There have been no reports of deaths or injuries in the area or other coastal areas of the province.
“That’s just a real blessing,” Lt. Scott Tummond told the Times, but added that workers would remain in rescue mode.
The recovery mode, he said, would begin after ensuring that the safety of those in need of assistance is complete.
The popular tourist attraction, seen here before the hurricane, was hit by the storm on Thursday evening as it hit the Gulf of Mexico
The popular tourist attraction, seen here, was hit by the storm on Thursday evening when it hit the Gulf of Mexico
Bobbitt said that Helene was the most violent force he had ever experienced, and that he even found it difficult to explain how powerful it was.
He expects the recovery of the small community and the island as a whole will take years.
‘I expect there will be a mass exodus. No services will take place here for months. There are no shops. No restaurants.
“It’s over,” he said grimly.
There have been no reports of deaths or injuries in the area, officials said
The weather system hit the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast around 11:10 PM CDT with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (230 km per hour)
The storm left a devastating trail of destruction across Florida and the entire southeastern US, killing at least 25 people in four states
In North Carolina, four people were seriously injured and countless others suffered minor injuries after a tornado touched down in Rocky Mount. The banks of the Swannanoa River in Asheville, NC can be seen here
The storm left a devastating trail of destruction across Florida and the entire southeastern US, killing at least 40 people in four states.
The storm has since been downgraded to a tropical depression and is located about 120 miles southeast of Louisville, Kentucky, Friday afternoon.
According to the National Hurricane Center, sustained winds had dropped to 30 mph (48 kph) after previously recording maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph).
At least 15 people have died in Georgia, another eight in Florida, and a reported 17 in South Carolina.
One person died in Florida from a falling tree, while another was struck by a sign on Interstate 4 in Tampa.
In South Carolina, two firefighters died after responding to calls, while two other deaths were due to fallen trees.
In neighboring North Carolina, four people were seriously injured and numerous others suffered minor injuries after a tornado touched down in Rocky Mount.
According to the National Hurricane Center, sustained winds had dropped to 30 mph (48 km/h) after previously measuring maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (230 km/h).
Members of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team bring Darryl Hall to dry land after his home was inundated by flooding in Atlanta, Georgia
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, meanwhile, issued a statement saying four counties were now under a state of emergency as of Friday afternoon.
He urged citizens to stay safe and said the state was experiencing widespread power outages. About 4.4 million Americans were without power Friday afternoon.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said dozens of people were still trapped in buildings damaged by the Category 4 hurricane.
In Tennessee, patients and caregivers took shelter on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital near the North Carolina border after it flooded.
The facility was flooded Friday morning after the nearby Nolichucky River overflowed its banks and flooded the facility.
Due to the treacherous conditions, boats were sent by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and everyone was forced onto the roof.
After failed attempts by helicopters to land safely on the building due to high winds, a state police helicopter managed to land and take the stranded people to safety.
Senator Bill Hagerty confirmed just after 4:00 PM EST that everyone had been rescued from the roof.
The damage extended hundreds of miles north, with flooding as far away as North Carolina, where a lake from the movie “Dirty Dancing” exceeded a dam.
Residents are seen here being rescued from the water in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Crystal River, Florida, on Friday
Destruction is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Cedar Key, Florida, on Friday
Laurie Lilliott examines what’s left of her home after Hurricane Helene passed through the area near Dekle Beach, Florida
Several hospitals in southern Georgia were without power, and one in Tennessee was closed.
Florida airports that were closed due to the hurricane reopened Friday. That included airports in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland and Tallahassee.
According to FlightAware, there were 130 flight cancellations at Tampa International Airport in the past 24 hours as of Friday afternoon.
Airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, remained open Friday but reported large numbers of cancellations and heavy delays.
As of 2 p.m., nearly 400 flights to or from Charlotte had been canceled. Nearly 580 others traveling to or from Charlotte were delayed.
At the larger Atlanta airport, 175 flights were canceled and more than 500 were delayed.