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Sunset Beach resident surveys damage from Idalia
Justin Matthews reports.
TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - People who live in coastal communities are now picking up the mess Hurricane Idalia left behind.
The impact from strong winds and flooding have made people’s homes unsafe to live in, like Maria Burgos’ in Sunset Beach.
"It is terrible, because everything inside the house that was on the floor, is gone, got so much water. The closet, the furniture, the stuff in the kitchen, the laundry, everything is, I cannot use it anymore," said Burgos.
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She says water got up to about shin-deep inside of her home during high tide early Wednesday morning.
She says the American Red Cross in Tampa took down her information, and she’s waiting to hear back.
"And then I call FEMA, and FEMA says Pinellas is not yet in the list of claims, so they told me to call every day to see when they open Pinellas," said Burgos.
In the meantime, Burgos says she’s going through all of her stuff to see what can be salvaged. Her electronics and a lot of furniture are destroyed.
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All of this, when in the last few weeks, a house next door to hers burned down and damaged the building she’s in and displaced some of her neighbors.
"I don’t believe this is happening, fire and then water, but it’s happening, and I am a strong person and I believe God is here, we’ll all get through," said Burgos. "We are alive and that is good."