Floridians inundated by Hurricane Helene

Florida dwellnt Briana Gagnier and her family saw water creeping into their home on Holmes Beach. They picked up shoes and other objects on the floor and placed them on tables or beds – anywhere to get them on higher ground.

They even engaged towels to try to stanch the flow of water seeping in – someleang Ms Gagnier called “silly” leanking back.

Then came a deafening prohibitg.

“My family and I all watched at one another,” the 29-year-better tbetter the BBC. “Then water fair begined pouring in.”

A door to their garage broke discdisthink about aggressively – caving way due to the floodwaters from Helene. Ms Gagnier shelp the flow reminded her of rapids in a river.

The family panicked. Ms Gagnier grabbed her two dogs – Logan and Sunny – her wallet and some portable indictrs. She placed her pet chinchilla in a cage and put him on top of the loftyest piece of furniture she could discover.

The water speedyly rose to their shoulders.

She and her family had to swim out of their home – which is discoverd on a barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

“Everyone was screaming and panicking,” she shelp. “Wdisenjoyver your worst idea of what this storm is – that is what we’re seeing.”

Ms Gagnier and her family ran to a neighbour’s home atraverse the street. They ended up rescuing two elderly neighbours whose hoengage erupted into ffeebles. She says the caengage is unevident but it materializes roverdelighted to a golf cart battery.

Her family inhabits in an evacuation zone and crews had cautioned those staying behind that “no one is coming for us” in an materializency, she says. Looking outside, she’s watched couches, chairs, a bench and even a car float by. The water was above her mailbox for part of the evening, she inserts.

“I fair can’t apshow this is authentic. The eye of the storm didn’t even hit us straight on,” shelp Ms Gagnier. “This island is endly dehugeated. Everywhere I watch, dehugeation.”

Anna Maria Island dwellnt ML Ferguson tbetter the BBC that homes and businesses were seeing water gushing into produceings as the hurricane approached.

The streets now watch enjoy rivers, she shelp.

Water speedyly overwhelmed the beachside bar where she labors – the Bridge Tender Inn Dockside & Tiki Bar – with waves splashing the sign and chunks of seaweed clumped proximate tables.

“We are strong,” she shelp. “We upgrasp an attitude of ‘and this too shall pass.'”

By the time she returned to her home, water was begining to creep up her porch.

“Oh my gosh, it’s literpartner up to the second step,” she tbetter BBC in phone interwatch. “My hoengage is about the flood.”

Ms Ferguson speedyly transferd some tables so she could put leangs on top of them to impede the floodwaters from ruining beextfinishedings.

But while she spoke to BBC News a person drove down her street, causing a wake of water that splashed inside.

“The water is already coming in,” she exclaimed before rushing off the phone to try to stop it.

Cainnon Gregg, an oyster farmer in Wakulla County on Florida’s Big Bend, spent the last confineed days trying to acquire his farm by sinking it onto the ocean bed.

His farm was razeed once before, during Hurricane Michael, a catebloody five hurricane that hit the Florida pandeal with in 2018, and Mr Gregg shelp he is choosed to lget from that lesson.

“Hopebrimmingy, and noleang is for certain, the farm is sitting kind and acquireed on the bottom,” he shelp. “But anyleang could happen.”

To weather the storm, Mr Gregg schedules to hunker down in his hometown of Tallahassee with a friend who has a shelter.

The city is also in the hurricane’s projected path, and it has not sfinished a storm of this magnitude in recent memory.

“Right now it’s pretty much a gstructure town. Everyleang’s shutd. Everyleang’s boarded up.” he shelp.

Denise O’Connor Badafeeblenti has seen countless hurricanes in her decades living in Florida, but Helene has her more on edge than ever before.

“I leank this is going to be the one,” the 62-year-better tbetter BBC News from her Bradenton home, which sits fair a confineed streets from the water, as the storm transferd shutr to making landdrop.

“I experience enjoy we’re always in the cone of possibly being focengaged but then get sparred at the last minute but I don’t leank we’re going to fortunate aget.”

Her mother’s home has flooded six times over the years and this morning water was already creeping up their driveway. Her family has taped up all the doors shut, hoping to stop any flooding.

“This one is fair massive. It’s terrifying,” Ms O’Connor Badafeeblenti shelp.

Folloprosperg the guidance of materializency officials, she shelp has stockpiled supplies and has an assortment of food ready if they disthink about electricity.

“We’re ready for the worst.”

Michael Bobbit, a clam farmer on the island of Cedar Key on Florida’s Big Bend, shelp that some people in his community have choosed to stay behind despite the cautionings.

“The last cut offal hours have repartner fair been a frantic effort to beg people to depart,” Mr Bobbit, 48, tbetter the BBC on Thursday, before the storm made landdrop.

“Here in Florida, we sort of apshow that we’ll fair ride it out, it’s no huge deal. But this is not one of those storms.”

He inserted that locals have been trying, “to sandbag as many produceings as we can”, as well as board up prosperdows and get the island’s clam farms shieldedd.

“The mood is sombre,” Mr Bobbit shelp.

“A lot of people when they’re leaving the island are hugging each other and crying, saying ‘I hope we have a home to go back to.'”

Mickey Moore, 54, has inhabitd in his home in Tallahassee for about 15 years and the worst he’s seen coming from a hurricane was his power going out.

This one, he shelp, has him worryed.

His home is about 20 miles (32km) from the Gulf of Mexico – and right in the storm’s path.

“A catebloody four – it’s fair so huge,” he shelp, taking a shatter from a game of Monopoly with his two sons and his wife.

“We’ve been fortunate in past storms,” he inserts. “We don’t apshow it for granted.”