ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — KT and George Oliveira said they’re taking it day by day as they rebuild their home on Venetian Isles in St. Pete.
The couple watched as the waves came crashing and roaring into their home through their camera the night that Hurricane Helene made landfall.
“When you watch it on the video, it almost seems surreal,” KT Oliveira said.
She said the family was thankful they had evacuated with their kids and dogs.
However, at some point before 10 p.m., they said they could no longer see through the camera and wondered what would be left of their home.
Video during the daylight hours already showed the waves touching the glass exterior of the house. The worst of Helene was still hours away.
At some point, sparks could be seen when water invaded the home, prompting worries that a fire could ignite and impact their neighbors.
The force of the waves had pushed their belongings to the front door.
The tiles from the floor ripped. There was now an opening from the back of the house where the waves crashed through.
The storm surge didn’t spare the kitchen and surrounding bedrooms either.
George Oliveira said as much as the physical damage hurts, it’s also the memories associated with their belongings lost.
“Until it happens to you, you don’t really know,” he said.
Pictures of loved ones and memories attached with belongings that have turned into trash cut deep.
The work KT Oliveira had done in the house they'd made into their home for about four years now seemed to have gone to waste.
Those belongings now trash for pickup similar to neighborhoods throughout Venetian Isles and parts of Tampa Bay.
Despite the impact the storm has had, the couple knows they’re not alone.
When asked what keeps them strong, they said it is the love and support they receive from friends, family and neighbors.
It didn’t take long for other people to step in and help clean up, throw trash out, remove the drywall and move fast with the remediation process.
“The thing that keeps us hopeful is just the love that surrounds us,” KT Oliveira said. “We will get through this. This too shall pass just day by day.”
As of Thursday night, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported at least $835 million in insured losses from Hurricane Helene.
At least 84,000 claims have been filed and the numbers are only expected to grow.