CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. — Citrus County residents and business owners are beginning the process of cleaning up after Hurricane Helene brought several feet of storm surge to their doors.

What You Need To Know

  •  On Friday, residents and business owners in Citrus County got a look at damage left behind by Hurricane Helene

  •  Some residents who said they have never had to deal with flooding before say Helene caused water to flow into their homes

  • Business owners, too, say the storm caused significant damage to their properties

"When he got to the corner, he called me back and said, 'I can't come. It's an ocean,'" Ann Jackson said, remembering a conversation she had with her brother early Friday morning.

Jackson owns a home not far from the intersection of U.S. 19 and NE Fifth Street, an area that saw water rise quickly. She said the neighborhood floods, but water's never gotten into the home she inherited from her mother nearly 30 years ago, where her brothers now live. Until, that is, Friday morning. By afternoon, the family had called in friends to help rip up carpeting and move water damaged items outside.

"We're gonna stay here. We're not leaving," said Jackson. "This is family property, and this is the first time that it has ever happened. Hopefully, it won't again - we can't say."

Even while dealing with her own flood damage, Jackson said she can't help but think of her neighbors elsewhere in the city.

"I just wish luck to everybody that was affected by this, because I know it's hard. I know a lot of people that live on the water, it's just a turnaround for them," Jackson said, referring to those impacted by Debby flooding last month and Hurricane Idalia flooding last year. The owners of Kane's Cattle Co. along N. Citrus Ave. are among them.

"I could say, 'not again', but it's also one of the risks we know we're taking by having a business in downtown Crystal River," said Morgan Sundberg, who owns Kane's along with her husband, Kason Sundberg. "It's nothing new that we see water and we see high water. However, it is pretty shocking that it was so close together."

Morgan said Kane's was closed for 90 days following Hurricane Idalia, but she said this time, the steakhouse was inundated with even more water.

"I got a walk-in cooler and a walk-in freezer right there — that storm surge picked them up and floated them over," said Kason about two large coolers, now tipped on their sides outside the restaurant.

Water still filled Kane's when the Sundbergs came to assess the damage Friday morning. Now that it's gone, they say the real work begins.

"Pulling out the drywall, pulling out the insulation and drying it up and making sure it's dry before we put it all back together," Morgan said.

The Sundbergs said they're trying to focus on staying positive.

"At the end of the day, we're gonna want everybody safe," Morgan said. "This can be fixed, this can be replaced. This is all material. So, at the end of the day, we're gonna smile."

As for when they'll reopen, Morgan told Spectrum News the goal is to beat that post-Idalia 90-day mark.