- Two houses standing next to each other at Keaton Beach, have two very different survival stories following Hurricane Helene.
- However, these neighbors share their confidence in their ability to recover, rebuild, and remain in this community.
- Watch the video to see the sheer contrast in damage across the Keaton Beach community and why some neighbors are shell-shocked, some are relieved, but all will have to put in time and money to rebuild.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
For Keaton Beach neighbor, Evan Snow, he's starting from ground zero.
"When I got here, it was the worst thing I've ever seen, it was debris everywhere," said Snow. "You know, it was tough, it was tough to see for sure."
His house of 6 years was completely totaled by Hurricane Helene. His loss is shared with many of his neighbors.
"Everybody is affected," said Snow. "You know all our friends who lived here, I mean there's nobody that's not affected and most people I know that lived here lost their house completely like I did."
However, other neighbors, like Brian Harper, were surprisingly spared.
"I felt guilty, I really felt bad," said Harper. "Even now, it's hard to comprehend until you've actually been here and you deal with the debris, and the stench, and the bugs."
Snow and Harper said they do think Helene will change the landscape here.
"This place won't ever look the same again, there's a lot of people who are not going to rebuild," said Snow.
Harper said there will be more campers, and less houses.
"It was a really nice little community compared to some of the others around here and I think it's probably going to be history," said Harper.
But all hope is not lost. Harper's house is still standing. He shows me, so is all of his furniture — unharmed.
"When we got here and pulled the panels off the back, there was no water in it, so we were relieved at that," said Harper.
Harper said that is enough motivation for him to rebuild, and additional storms, like Milton, do not phase him.
"Our plan is to rebuild and repair everything," said Harper. "We like it here, it's quiet, it's rural, it's not like typical Florida, it's like old Florida."
Even for Snow, who remains uncertain about his recovery timeline, he said he is picking up the pieces and staying put.
"I have no idea, months, I mean at least months, I don't know, maybe years, who knows," said Snow. "Eventually, it will be normal here eventually, I just don't know when."
