CRYSTAL RIVER, FL (352today.com) – Crystal River was the “big city.”
At least it was for this River Rat from the little town of Dunnellon in the ’80s and ’90s. Crystal River had a mall. It had a bowling alley. It had seafood restaurants and an actual beach that was so much closer than Daytona.
352today’s Alan Youngblood went to Crystal River just hours after Hurricane Helene hit the Gulf Coast town. The hurricane has put parts of the city on pause until the water from high-level storm surge evaporates, according to Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast.
“Earlier today we had record-setting storm surge that came to shore at about two o’clock in the morning and unfortunately, many of the homes of businesses on the west side of the county that are in Flood Zone A saw another round of very severe inundation from storm surge,” says Prendergast. “In our 137-year history we’ve never seen storm surge like this.”
“Overwhelmingly, a lot of our great residents evacuated from Flood Zone A,” Prendergast shares. “However, there were some of our diehard residents who stayed behind for one reason or another, and then we went out to try and rescue them.”
The sheriff says that at one point, over 130 service calls were handled. The department saved over 200 people and more than 50 pets, adding “we’ve got a lot of work left to do yet today,”
Prendergast mentions that the department will probably begin damage assessments once the water goes down. After that, they can share some FEMA information with the residents.
“It’s just devastating,” says Homosassa resident Ashley Strauss. “I’ve never seen something like this in my life.”
Strauss is a nurse who takes care of a gentleman near Crystal River Middle School.
|RELATED: Hurricane Helene strikes as a Category 4 storm causing flooding and widespread damage
“I wanted to see if there was any way to check on him since he’s not answering his telephone but obviously I can’t,” she says, clearly worried.
![A motorist drives on a flooded Southeast 5th Street after Hurricane Helene pushed water throughout Crystal River, FL on Friday, September 27, 2024. US 19 is closed through Crystal River as flood waters crossed it in several places. Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast said the water take a while to recede and that some of will just have to evaporate because there is nowhere for it to go. [Alan Youngblood/352today]](https://i0.wp.com/352today.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/275/files/2024/09/352crystalriverhelene_0945.jpg?w=218&h=129&ssl=1 "Hurricane Idalia hits Crystal River")
Strauss explains that she relocated from Crystal River to Homosassa due to the flooding she faced during tropical storms. She mentions that her new home currently lacks power and water due to Hurricane Helene, but fortunately, it did not experience any flooding.