BRADENTON, Fla. — Several neighborhoods in Bradenton have been flooded as a result of Hurricane Helene’s impact.

Manatee County officials called the storm surge “unprecedented.” Many homes have flooded, losing everything inside, including the area of Chauncey Avenue.

Residents said they have never experienced a storm like this before.

“It’s very hard,” said Deborah Garber. “This is less we had of him and it’s just everything he’s worked his whole life for gone off.”

Garber is referring to her brother, Robin. Garber and other family members live in Robin’s home in Bradenton.

“My brother, he had a heart attack in March, and we lost him in April, and my mom had actually had two strokes, so he moved us in with him to help take care of her, and then he ended up passing away,” she said.

During Hurricane Helene, Garber said water rose more than two feet insider of their house. Now, they have no choice but to gut everything inside. Southern Cross Fire Protection Crews are helping.

“The water just came up quick,” Garber said. “I mean, it was at the end of the road down there, and within 20 minutes, it was halfway up our driveway.”

Manatee County officials received hundreds of 911 calls Thursday night and rescued more than 300 residents. Garber and her family were among those numbers.

“We ended up having to call 911 for rescue and my nephew came to pick us up and the rescue had to help us get out of the truck,” she said.

She’s lived near the water since 2017, but had never seen this level of flooding.

“I thought my neighbors lived here for 31 years. And (the neighbors) said it’s never come in the house. And he’s never seen it like this,“ Garber said.

While evacuation orders have been lifted, officials say to still proceed with caution. They also say the water is safe to drink, but due to storm surge, they do stress to conserve water and take shorter showers.