‘I was scared as hell’: Florida residents dig out after Helene landfall

The warnings about Hurricane Helene were dire and for the residents of Taylor county on the Gulf coast of Florida they were necessary.

“A mandatory evacuation for Taylor county residents has been ordered,” came the first message from local and state authorities.

The message became even more dire as Helene barreled toward landfall in Taylor county, pulling no punches on the possible consequences of staying behind to face the category 4 monster storm.

“If you or someone you know choose not to evacuate, please write your name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so that you can be identified and family notified,” was the blunt statement from local law enforcement.

Nonetheless, people did stay and hunker down, and as they emerged on Friday morning they had tales of survival of a terrifying night, a relief the storm was gone and fears for many of their fellow residents of this storm-ravaged coast and flooded interior.

Mark Viola, a local reporter in the town of Perry, heard the warnings but says he trusted that the Perry/Taylor county chamber of commerce building where he took refuge was strong enough to withstand the category 3 hurricane.

“I felt that was more for those who may have stayed at the coast and would be facing the storm surge,” he said.

Cynthia Ellis, who decided to ride out the hurricane at her home in Perry, had a different reaction to the Taylor county sheriff’s warning for residents who chose not to evacuate.

“I was terrified,” she said. “I felt an eerie and very scary feeling when I heard this.”

Katrina McLeod McNeil, who decided to not to evacuate her home in Tallahassee, about 52 miles north-east of Tallahassee, was already questioning her decision not to evacuate when she heard the warning for Taylor county residents on the local television news.

McNeil, who has family in Taylor county, said: “I can tell you if where we were was under a mandatory evacuation, we would not be here.”

McNeil knew the hurricane was going to hit the Big Bend area, but because there was some uncertainty about exactly where, she said: “I didn’t want to stay. My husband did, and I chose to stay with him. I’m not afraid. I just didn’t want to witness the effects of the storm.”

Like McNeil, Viola contemplated leaving but in the end it was his love for his pet that persuaded her to stay.

“My cat Koko doesn’t travel well, and he’s older, so I was leery about giving him medication to calm him and then taking him on a multi-hour trip to find a pet-friendly hotel,” he said. “It wasn’t a tough decision at the time, because we thought it would be cat[egory] 2, maybe a cat 3. If I’d known what we were going to get, I’d never have stayed.”

“My original plan was to stay home on with a cat 1 or 2 and go to my sister’s office at the chamber of commerce if it was a cat 3. If it was worse, I’d leave town. But I talked myself out of it when it seemed like was going to hit 50-70 miles west. The forecasts for the storm were all over the place and we didn’t know for sure we were in the bullseye until a few hours before landfall. Fortunately, the chamber office is a sturdy building, but the sounds were intense,” Viola added.

Ellis said she made up her mind to stay, but she said the decision was a tough one because the rest of her family was evacuating to various parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. “Me and my fiance discussed the potential impact of the hurricane and decided to stay because our house is sturdy,” she said.

When the hurricane made landfall, Ellis said: “I was scared as hell because the roaring outside sounded like a train passing through. We huddled in the hallway and closet for protection and prayed for God to be with us.”

Power outages throughout the region followed shortly after the hurricane made landfall.

McNeil’s husband turned on the generator and began trying to help a neighbor who has a motorized hospital bed. “While trying to run an extension cord from the neighbor’s house, an armadillo came through a hole in their backyard fence and chased my husband,” she said. “He lost his phone and his glasses during the chase. We found the phone. Waiting for daybreak to find the glasses. God is so good. He spared us and is allowing us to assist others. I’m humbled and grateful.”

When asked about the damage outside her home, McNeil hesitated then responded: “I’m not looking outside.”

Viola, who lives in a mobile home, was thankful when he was finally able to leave the safety of the chamber building to check on his home.

“My house seems to have escaped damage miraculously,” he said. “I’ve got a yard to clean up, but the house is intact. Now that I know the house is OK, now to face who knows how long without power. But I’ll take that over the alternative.”

After being hit by three hurricanes – Idalia, Debby and Helene – in 13 months, Viola said the damage inside Perry wasn’t as bad as he expected. “Some places definitely got damage, but the wholesale loss of trees isn’t as bad as it was with Hurricane Idalia.”

However, he is extremely concerned about Taylor county’s coastal residents.

“I have that feeling of being happy for myself and Dad, and being scared for everyone who did take damage, especially for the people on the coast, where a lot of people lost everything,” he said.