Small Manatee County community faces uncertain future as Hurricane Idalia recovery continues
RUBONIA, Fla. - Hurricane Idalia damaged hundreds of homes along the gulf coast nearly a month ago, but as the cleanup continues, residents of the small Manatee County community of Rubonia face an uncertain future.
Many are still trying to cover costly repairs, and a lot of help is needed from the outside.
"I haven’t come back home yet. I’m still out, and I’m still trying to identify how I will refurnish this house," said Rubonia resident Mary Goff.
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Goff’s floors have been ripped out, and her family's belongings lay drying out with mold.
"It’s just like a waste. It’s like a hit in the chest that you don’t get rid of overnight," said Goff.
She’s not alone. Another Rubonia resident Veronica McCrea’s home and her mother’s across the way had significant damage.
"We never had so much water, because I still had water sitting in my house about two weeks later," said McCrea.
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FEMA gave them $700, but the damage goes into the thousands.
"I’m hoping that we can scratch it but if it’s not, we just have to do what we can do," said McCrea.
Manatee County and the Red Cross went door to door working to determine resident’s needs. They even brought FEMA in for assistance.
"You can smell the mold when you first walk in you can see where the water came in," said Tarnisha Cliatt with Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce.
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Community organizations like the NAACP and the Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce said so much more is needed as the area continues to recover.
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"We’ve solicited general contractors that can maybe do some pro bono work, we are looking to also partner with Lowes perhaps, but we need to know the actual damages are so that we know what materials will be necessary to get them back up to par and to speed," said Cliatt.
Some of the damage here had been ongoing for years, but the groups said it’s time to fix it for good.
"Today, we are bringing awareness to the community that we will go through these homes and through us, we will ask for volunteers and for support and construction work, and we will fix these homes," said Luther Wilkins, the president of the Manatee County chapter of the NAACP.