Cedar Key, a beloved island city and tourist destination on the Florida Gulf Coast, was pummeled by Hurricane Helene.

According to FOX 35 Orlando, the small town faced an 8-foot storm surge and has a long recovery after the Category 4 hurricane’s destruction.

Images and videos circulating from the gulf island are horrific:

Cedar Key pic.twitter.com/3ip7QiYG4M

— The Beach From Florida (@BeachFrmFL) September 27, 2024

Pieces of homes are widely scattered around Cedar Key, which was slammed with over 10 feet of storm surge last night.

The first floor of multi-story buildings have largely been swept away by the record breaking surge wrought by #Helene and its massive wind field. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/1oQbIotfdW

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) September 27, 2024

#CedarKey after #HurricanwHelene @jpetramala #StormSurge #hurricane #damage #aftermath pic.twitter.com/QpxybBYMNr

— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) September 27, 2024

“Started the morning off in Cedar Key with Levy County Sheriff Bobby McCallum. We walked through the town and assessed the damage. It’s heartbreaking to see so many homes and businesses destroyed by this storm, but we’re in this together, and I will fight alongside you every step of the way to get you the federal resources you need,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said.

Started the morning off in Cedar Key with Levy County Sheriff Bobby McCallum.

We walked through the town and assessed the damage. It’s heartbreaking to see so many homes and businesses destroyed by this storm, but we’re in this together, and I will fight alongside you every… pic.twitter.com/NsF75HPO8t

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 28, 2024

FOX 35 Orlando reports:

Located west of Ocala on the Gulf of Mexico, the small community remains unsafe for residents to return.

State Road 24 leading into Cedar Key is lined with downed trees and standing water. The Levy County Sheriff’s Office is still in rescue and recovery mode, closely monitoring traffic onto the island as they assess the damage caused by Helene’s nearly 100 mph winds and 12-foot storm surge.

Carol Carlin, a Cedar Key resident, kept an eye on her home through a surveillance camera during the storm.

“I knew it was just going to get worse and worse,” Carlin said. “The water didn’t stop rising until about 1:30.”

The Carlins have yet to return home, but based on reports from neighbors, they expect their house to be severely damaged.

“Hurricane Helene crashed into Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 storm. Michael Presley Bobbitt, 48, rode out the storm on Cedar Key. He says entire homes are missing or flattened, and calls the destruction much worse than he had imagined as the storm hit overnight,” MLive wrote.

WATCH:

USA TODAY also shared footage of the destruction on Cedar Key.

WATCH:

Per Daily Mail:

Michael Bobbitt, 48, was one of those who decided to stay behind.

‘We’re feeling pretty gut-punched here in Cedar Key. When we were fighting this in the night, however bad we thought it would be, it’s much worse in the light of day.

‘Cedar Key as we know it is completely gone,’ he told The New York Times.

‘Entire houses have been picked up and moved away. We had to go through four feet of water to get to them. The post office is destroyed.’

‘Several restaurants are destroyed. The Jiffy Food Store is destroyed. Vehicles are smashed in and turned upside down. Everything is impassable. It looks like a nuclear bomb went off.’

The storm made landfall on Thursday and brought with it a storm surge that reportedly hit four feet on the small island in the Gulf of Mexico.

As the residents that stayed on the island woke on Friday morning, they discovered the island had been stripped bare by the winds, with debris littering the streets.

#hurricanehelene in Cedar Key, #Florida. @jpetramala pic.twitter.com/OuRtsUFvhB

— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) September 27, 2024

“At least 44 people are dead just 24 hours after Hurricane Helene first made landfall in Florida,” WLTReport noted.

“The death toll comes as Hurricane Helene has wreaked havoc across Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas,” the outlet added.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.