ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shore Acres is an area that often floods, but in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, some long-time residents say this is some of the worst flooding they’ve seen.

In addition to the flooding, officials say two homes caught fire and police spent much of Friday morning rescuing people from their homes.

Scott Gehrich and his family spent Friday watching police as they searched for his in-laws. 

“Fifty years of living there, they have the highest house in Shore Acres and it never flooded,” he said. “So they felt confident that it wasn’t going to flood because it never has. But this time was different.”

It was around 10 p.m. Thursday that Gehrich said his mother-in-law first contacted them about the flooding.

Due to the severity and time, he said there was nothing they could do but wait until morning. 

“Just panic about how high the water was going to be,” he said. “Can they stay high enough? Can they get all of their meds high enough? Can they get any documents they need?”

It was a similar situation for Jaylen Wilson.

As he waited for a friend to pick him up at the Shore Acres Recreation Center, he said the preparations he made to his house were holding up well until he heard a cracking at his front door. 

“Within 30 seconds, the water was up to my chest in the house,” he said. “Everything was floating around. TV stand ended up in the kitchen. My recliner in the living room ended up all the way down the hallway in the back, next to the bedroom. Everything is basically gone.”

At home with his dog Penelope and his grandmother, his first thought was to get everyone to safety, so he grabbed the necessitates and took action.

“She’s on oxygen and we had to leave the house and get to higher ground because the beds were flooded and everything,” he said. “So we went to my neighbor’s house. She wasn’t home, but her house sits up high, so we just hung out on her front porch all night.”

Wilson was eventually picked up by a friend and Gehrich said his in-law were found and rescued by police.