Eneyas Freitas, the lead pastor of The Gathering Church, remembered how, two years ago, he and his neighbors waded through waist-deep water as Hurricane Helene unleashed a record-breaking storm surge on the Shore Acres neighborhood.
Flooding wasn't new to the waterfront community in St. Petersburg. But, for many, it was the first time water had entered their homes.
Freitas, his wife and others walked nearly two miles in the dark before rescue teams could reach them. In the days following, people came home to water-logged carpets and walls. Some had lost everything.
"It's the trauma you have to go through, that is still part of that recovery," said Freitas.
Saturday will mark the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene's landfall. And though many have recovered and moved on, some are still putting their homes — and their lives — back together.
Though the category 4 hurricane didn't hit the region directly, a record six feet of storm surge damaged hundreds of homes in Shore Acres.
"Some are still building back up, believe it or not, after two years," said Freitas.
Others left the area entirely, unable to foot the cost of rebuilding or elevating their homes or the rising insurance rates.
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Freitas said the church lost about a third of its congregation in the aftermath.
The church itself, which normally served as a place of refuge during previous flood incidents, wasn't spared either. Helene brought water into the sanctuary, and Hurricane Milton, less than two weeks later, poured in through the roof.
The wooden pews, soaked through, were torn out along with the carpet. Another section of the church that held office space and children's rooms had to be gutted as well.
For the past two years, Freitas said they've been rebuilding the church and its congregation.
On Wednesday night, church members hosted a dinner for the community,
"It's this recognition that we feel your pain, if you will, or your difficulties," said Freitas.
Alyson Voit, a Shore Acres resident, recalled watching the waters rise on her Ring camera while she stayed at a friend's house.
Eventually the video footage cut out as the neighborhood lost power, she said. When Voit returned home, she saw the water line sitting around two feet.
The belongings she had stacked on top of furniture and counters remained dry, but the floor and walls were damaged.
Voit said she considers herself lucky, since some residents lost a lot more. But she said everyone, including herself, lost a sense of peace and safety.
"You go to bed one night with a home, and you wake up the next morning and you don't have one anymore," said Voit, "And it was probably extra devastating for us because it wasn't just an individual situation; it was all of us."
Voit said she moved back into her house this past summer.
Douglas and Angela Thigpen lived in their Shore Acres home for over three decades when Helene hit.
That Sept. 26th evening, the couple decided to load up the car "with everything that we cannot ever live without," and drove north to stay with family, tires sloshing through the water.
When they came back the next day, they saw a three-foot high waterline marking the outside of homes on their street.
Douglas Thigpen said he sealed every entrance of their house with plywood before evacuating, but it didn't stop the water from seeping in.
It was a "mad dash" to salvage what was left, Angela Thigpen said.
"Everything was wet. It was so nasty. It hit all the furniture, all the appliances," Angela said, "It was not just salt water. It was water that had been released from the sewage treatment plant."
For the first three months, the Thigpens said they spent every day after work restoring the house. They cut the walls and treated for mold.
After nearly a year, the city approved permits for the Thigpens to begin rebuilding. They lived in an RV across the street as construction went on for the next 10 months.
This past summer, they were able to move back in to a newly-built second floor.
"It's sad to see the neighborhood still struggling," said Angela. "So many people are still struggling to come back, to choose to start rebuilding or not being able to afford to rebuild at all."
