A week after Hurricane Helene slammed Florida’s Big Bend with a 10-foot storm surge and 140 mph winds, boats lay balanced on their sides and silt lined the street. The coastal town of Steinhatchee, population 500, shows progress, though.
Floodwater-soaked furniture forms neat piles by the road. Too many bucket trucks to count drive by, clearing fallen trees. Teams of uniformed FEMA employees fill the town, but it’s the neon-clad, ballcap-wearing residents who are its true emblem.
House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Steinhatchee on Thursday afternoon to applaud the community’s recovery efforts and assure residents that long-term help is on the way.
“This is a substantial storm, substantial losses. It's going to take a while to tabulate all of it, but I just, I want to say again, how inspired we are by the spirit of the people,” he said.
Hurricane Helene and its predecessors devastated much of Steinhatchee’s waterfront. Marinas, rental units and restaurants on which the coastal economy depends have been hit by three hurricanes in 13 months.
The coastline is only a fraction of Taylor County, though, and the hurricanes also severely impacted its more than 1,000 square miles of non-coastal land.
As of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the county had 212 farms, their products totaling a market value of $22 million.
“These are big agriculture districts here,” Johnson said. “The agriculture in Florida supplies the whole country. We all know it's very important. So that is a top concern for Congress.”
Earlier Thursday afternoon, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined President Biden for an aerial tour of areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Fifteen Florida members of Congress sent a letter on Oct. 1 urging Secretary Vilsack to issue a disaster declaration for counties, including Taylor County, impacted by Hurricane Helene. U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, (R-Fla., 3rd Dist.), and U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, (R-Fla., 2nd Dist.), who joined Johnson in his visit to Steinhatchee, both signed the letter.
Vilsack hasn’t yet approved the request, which would offer grants to support Florida farmers in their recovery efforts.
Johnson, Cammack and Dunn were scheduled to attend an agricultural meeting in Gainesville following their visit to Steinhatchee. “It’s very important for us to hear from the ag community this afternoon,” said Johnson.
That community doesn’t often feel heard.
In the wake of Helene, peanut farmers in north central Florida said that it can take years for emergency aid to arrive. That leaves them struggling to afford the infrastructure repairs needed to resume operations.
In 2023, Hurricane Idalia caused more than $447 million in agricultural losses throughout the state. Early agriculture damage estimates from Hurricane Debby are between $94 million and $263 million.
Analysts haven’t yet tabulated the damage to farms from Hurricane Helene, but some growers say the damage was worse than from Idalia.
Johnson had one message for people who didn’t trust that the federal government would help them rebuild: “Keep the faith.”
After the Washington delegation left the iconic but storm-battered Roy’s Restaurant, a tan tent popped up in the restaurant’s parking lot. A cheerleading team from Taylor County High School manned a buffet line of comfort food for a steady trickle of residents.
“I hope that change is coming, but you can’t really tell,” said Taylor County resident Rebecca Brantley.
Until it does, residents and out-of-towners will continue to band together, handing out neon-green FEMA disaster assistance fact sheets alongside scoops of collard greens and mashed potatoes.
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