Families Rally Together to Rebuild After Hurricanes Wreak Havoc in Tampa

When ankle-deep floodwaters from Hurricane Helene bubbled up through the floors of their home, Kat Robinson-Malone and her husband sent a late-night text message to their neighbors two doors down: “Hey, we’re coming.”

The couple waded through the flooded street to the elevated front porch of Chris and Kara Sundar, whose home was built on higher ground, handing over their eight-year-old daughter and a gas-powered generator.

The Sundars’ house in southern Tampa also became a refuge for Brooke and Adam Carstensen, whose house next door to Robinson-Malone’s also flooded. The three families met years earlier when their children became playmates.

As Helene and Hurricane Milton struck Florida within two weeks, the neighbors closed ranks, cooking meals together, taking turns watching children, and cleaning out their damaged homes.

As Milton threatened a direct strike on Tampa, the Malones, Sundars and Carstensens decided to evacuate together. They drove over 450 miles in a caravan to Atlanta, comprising seven adults, six children, four dogs and teenage Max Carstensen’s three pet rats.

“Everyone has, like, the chainsaw or a tarp,” Robinson-Malone said, as reported by The Associated Press. “But really the most important thing for us was the community we built. That made all the difference for the hurricane rescue and the recovery.”

Recovery efforts continued Sunday in storm-battered communities in central Florida, where President Joe Biden surveyed the devastation.

He expressed gratitude that the damage from Milton was not as severe as anticipated, but noted it was still a “cataclysmic” event for those caught in the hurricane’s path. It has been blamed for at least 11 deaths.

The number of homes and businesses in Florida without electricity dropped to about 500,000 on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us, down from over 3 million after Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm.

While recovery efforts gained momentum, Governor Ron DeSantis cautioned that debris removal could take up to a year. He stated that Biden had approved 100% federal reimbursement for debris removal for 90 days. “The (removal of) debris has to be 24/7 over this 90-day period,” DeSantis emphasized.

National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Close warned that rivers would continue rising for days, resulting in flooding around Tampa Bay and northward.

Meanwhile, residents unable to return to their damaged homes made alternative arrangements. Robinson-Malone and her husband bought a camper trailer to live in while their gutted home undergoes repairs. “These storms, they’re just going to keep happening,” she said.

The Carstensens plan to demolish their flooded home and replace it with a new house raised higher off the ground.

Tackling recovery as a group has made it seem far less overwhelming, Brooke Carstensen said. Despite concerns over future storms, she expressed her desire to remain in Tampa, stating: “Why do we live here in a place that’s trying to destroy us? Well, it’s all the people that we have here.”

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press