RUBONIA, Fla. — It’s been one month since floodwaters from Hurricane Idalia damaged hundreds of homes across the region, but some residents of Manatee County’s oldest community are still living in unsafe conditions. 

Rubonia is located just south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and by a creek so its not unusual for the area to get some water during a big storm, but Idalia brought more than a foot into some homes. Many homes here are aging, originally built in the 1950s. 

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FEMA set up a disaster recovery center at the Rubonia Community Center in order to assist residents in filing claims. Since they opened Sunday, more than 30 families have come by asking for help. 

Beatrice Hall, 88, moved into her Rubonia home with her late husband in 1962.

She says she knows that her home isn’t safe anymore but there isn’t anything she can do at the moment. She’s filed a claim with FEMA and is waiting to hear back. 

“I’m just trying to do the best I can,” she said. 

While her home has mostly dried out, the smell of mildew sits in the carpets and the floor of her living room is sunken in. Her kitchen floors have ripped apart and she says her refrigerator will no longer stay cold. 

Water from the storm also damaged her washer and dryer which she says are beyond repair. 

“I want my house back like it was. I ain't used to living like this,” she said. “But this is where I gotta be at now.” 

Tarnisha Cliatt, with the Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce, is helping to organize help and resources for Rubonia residents. She says many have had these homes in their families for years and don’t have insurance. 

“They’re very much so older homes and probably not up to code right now so they probably can’t get that home insurance,” she said. "If they did qualify for it how much would it be?” 

Cliatt says residents here are in need of basic necessities like clothes and food, as well as materials for home renovations. 

Donations are being accepted through the Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce website and should be earmarked "Rubonia".