Hurricane Helene left Steinhatchee resident Susie Grant in disbelief after returning to her flooded home Friday.
“I was in shock. This is the worst I’ve ever seen here,” Grant told NBC News, surveying damage to the home she’s lived in for 45 years. “I’m glad I left, but I’m glad I still have a house.”
She said her residence, built from the ground up by herself and her late husband, took six years to construct.
“Well, it’s got mud and all that, and everything’s been floating around, and it’s probably about 18 inches (of rain) in the house,” Grant said.
This is the second time she’s dealt with the aftermath of a hurricane.
In December, the bar she’s worked at for the past decade re-opened after being toppled by Hurricane Idalia, a Category 4 hurricane which struck the southeast and north Florida in August.
While happy to be back home, Grant said she has plenty of work to do.
“I’m gonna rebuild. That’s all I can do. I own this property here,” she said. “I can’t go anywhere else. I don’t have money to rebuild. And I love it here, too.”
Kathy Park reported from Steinhatchee, Florida, and Deon Hampton reported from Denver, Colorado.