CRYSTAL RIVER, FL (352today.com) – Nearly a year ago, on August 30, 2023, families and businesses in Crystal River were wading through flooded streets trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and their livelihoods after Hurricane Idalia’s powerful storm surge swept through their town.
Nearly a year later, residents in Crystal River are grappling with the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Debby, which made landfall near Steinhatchee in Florida’s Big Bend region around 7 a.m. Monday, August 5, 2024.
352today’s Alan Youngblood spoke with local fishing guide Jayce Massaro about the cleanup efforts, and how another hurricane less than a year after Idalia is affecting his business.
“Right now, we’re kind of just seeing some of the residual effects, a little minor flooding,” said Massaro. “Believe it or not, this is kind of the least of our worries right now. We have some secondary flooding coming through with a high tide this afternoon. Which is probably going to pose a little bit more of a threat to these homes. It will put the water a little bit closer to get inside the houses.”
The storm unleashed powerful winds and heavy rainfall, causing substantial flooding, particularly in neighborhoods west of U.S. 19. Streets were impassable, and citizens were bracing for further water level increases for high tide at around 5:40 p.m.
In parts of Crystal River, residents have been navigating their flooded streets via kayaks. In the Paradise Point neighborhood, it was a common sight to see people paddling through what used to be their roads. The floodwaters turned driveways into rivers and front yards into miniature lakes.
As Debby left its mark on residential areas, the hurricane also caused businesses – like Massaro’s – to suffer. Massaro mentioned that clients were forced to cancel their trips, and he had to remove his boats from the water; however, it is the water that ultimately suffers the consequences.
“The water gets real murky,” he said. “Fishing is still difficult for a while.”
It doesn’t help that the Gulf Coast community has been relentlessly hit by weather event after weather event.
“It’s been kind of back-to-back here within the last 12 months. We’ve had [Hurricane] Idalia come through. We’ve had two tornadoes come through and then this last hurricane came through that just made landfall,” Massaro detailed. “So, they’re pretty devastating in this little area.”
Vehicles that ventured onto Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. found themselves driving through hazardous waterlogged conditions. It’s a familiar scene across multiple neighborhoods in Crystal River as people struggle to return to normalcy.
In residential areas, neighbors banded together to clear debris. Along Woodward Park St., numerous residents worked to clear downed trees and made their way through knee-high water to assess the damage. Trucks and heavy equipment navigated through the flooded Three Sisters Trail to expedite the cleanup process.
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office responded by blocking off several high-priority thoroughfares, including Citrus Ave. and U.S. 19, which are important for the movement of rescue and repair teams. Deputies were out in full force making public safety a priority while road crews worked to clear the waterlogged streets.
Citrus County authorities asked residents to prepare for further complications brought about by the impending high tide. Emergency services remain on standby to offer assistance as needed, but the primary focus continues to be on securing flooded areas and initiating recovery.