ABOARD CESSNA 172L N7776G – Over Florida’s Big Bend region where Hurricane Helene hit with brutal force, once-green forested areas were unrecognizable as flooding seawater washed over communities. Gaunt trees were stripped of their leaves, mud was deposited onto streets from storm surges and debris was scattered everywhere..

Arriving Thursday night west of Perry, Florida, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 140 mph and storm surges estimated at 15 feet in areas like Taylor and Dixie counties.

The view from the air – flying under 1,500 feet above the damage – evaded blocked roads and phone service gaps. It revealed wreckage spanning the Florida coast across the communities of Cedar Key, Suwannee, Horseshoe Beach, Steinhatchee and Perry. Homes and businesses in coastal areas experienced widespread structural damage and flooding.

The flight in a chartered plane early Friday covered some of the same communities that Gov. Ron DeSantis visited later in the day, such as Perry where the governor surveyed damage with local officials.

In the fishing village of Cedar Key, with its tourist shops downtown, some houses collapsed in the hurricane. The storm scattered building materials across residential blocks close to the coast. Two Black Hawk helicopters patrolled the Levy County keys, littered with wood and metal debris, as construction and utility vehicles entered the largest island.

By the mouth of the Suwannee River, wood debris floated in bodies of water along the unincorporated Dixie County community. Branches and tree limbs clogged branches of the river along waterfront homes and boats. Cleanup crews in pickups made their way across flooded and muddy roads.

Further north up the coast, piers and homes collapsed in the town of Horseshoe Beach. Homes that once stood on wood supports to keep them dry during high water fell onto the land. 

The nearby fishing village of Steinhatchee suffered catastrophic flooding. Surging seawater swept away boats and piers.

In Perry, about 15 miles inland, destructive winds ripped roofs off homes and buildings, collapsing some entirely. Helene also blew down fences at a ballpark and damaged stands at a nearby football stadium.

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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at diego.perdomo@freshtakeflorida.com.