STEINHATCHEE, Fla. — Cleanup continues in the Big Bend of Florida, where now-Tropical Storm Debby slammed the area as a Category 1 hurricane.
The storm slammed coastal and low-lying areas, flooding homes and knocking out power of hundreds of thousands.
The then-hurricane even washed away part of the Howard Frankland bridge in the Tampa and St. Petersburg area.
In Steinhatchee, where the storm made landfall, residents spent Tuesday cleaning up, as Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke to members of the media after touring the damage.
WPTV's Kate Hussey rode out the storm with residents from Steinhatchee and spoke to many of them as recovery efforts began.
Tropical Weather
'Can’t get a break:' Debby inundates Steinhatchee with heavy rain, flooding
"It didn't really get as bad as we thought it would, which is amazing," said Savannah Cole, a Steinhatchee resident and employee of the riverfront community's Sea Hag Marina.
Cole and other employees spoke to WPTV as they handed out water and sports drinks to crews cleaning up throughout the area.
Debby flooded the restaurant's front deck, took down pieces of its awning and waterlogged the inn's main cabin with at least four inches of water.
Piles of debris stood outside of the popular marina, restaurant and inn, as workers spent all day Tuesday shoveling up fallen branches and leaves, power-washing off residual mud and sweeping away objects left behind by flood waters.
Still, marina owner Danielle Norwood is thankful it wasn't worse.
“We have to take this with our chin up. This is what it’s about. We know we’re going to get hit by storms so we’ve got to come up with the best way to clean up and we think we’ve done a pretty good job," said Norwood.
Earlier models showed Steinhatchee could see up to 8-12 inches during Debby, and up to 10 feet of storm surge.
Less than a year earlier, Hurricane Idalia, as a Category 3 hurricane, slammed the community with as much as 12 feet of storm surge, including the Sea Hag Marina.
The hurricane caused millions of dollars in damages throughout Taylor County.
"[This time] there’s no mud, Idalia brought in about two feet of mud that just took days and days to remove and we don't have that, we just have this beautiful straw that's pretty easy to move around," said Norwood.
Norwood expects her business to be back open shortly, and most of waterfront Steinhatchee already has power back on.
As Sea Hag employees distribute their own water to cleanup crews, the Florida National Guard set up a point of distribution for water, food and comfort items for residents throughout Taylor County impacted by the storm.
Several comfort stations were also set up in and around Steinhatchee to provide shower, laundry and bathroom facilities.
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