'I was scared as hell': Florida residents excavate after Helene Landing | Hurricane Helene

The warnings for Hurricane Helene were dire and necessary for residents of Taylor County on Florida's Gulf Coast.

“A mandatory evacuation for Taylor County residents has been ordered,” read the initial message from local and state authorities.

The message became even more dire as Helene raced toward the mainland in Taylor County without considering the potential consequences of staying behind to face the monster Category 4 storm.

“If you or someone you know decides not to evacuate, please write your name, birthday and important information in permanent marker on your arm or leg so you can be identified and your family notified,” was the blunt statement from local law enforcement.

Still, people stayed and hunkered down, and when they emerged Friday morning, they reported survival of a terrible night, relief that the storm was over, and fear for many of their fellow residents on this storm-ravaged coast and the flooded interior.

Mark Viola, a local reporter in the town of Perry, heard the warnings but said he trusted the Perry/Taylor County Chamber of Commerce building where he sought shelter would be strong enough to withstand the Category 3 hurricane .

“I felt like this was more for those who might have stayed on the coast and were exposed to the storm surge,” he said.

Cynthia Ellis, who decided to ride out the hurricane at her home in Perry, had a different reaction to the Taylor County Sheriff's Office warning to residents who chose not to evacuate.

“I was terrified,” she said. “I had an eerie and very frightening feeling when I heard that.”

Katrina McLeod McNeil, who decided not to evacuate her home in Tallahassee, about 52 miles northeast of Tallahassee, was already questioning her decision not to evacuate when she appeared on local television news announcing the warning for Taylor County residents heard.

McNeil, who has family in Taylor County, said, “I can tell you if there was an eviction where we were, we wouldn't be here.”

McNeil knew the hurricane would hit the Big Bend area, but because there was some uncertainty about exactly where, she said, “I didn't want to stay.” My husband did and I decided to stay with him. I'm not afraid. I just didn’t want to experience the effects of the storm.”

Like McNeil, Viola considered leaving, but in the end it was his love for his pet that persuaded her to stay.

“My cat Koko doesn't travel well and is elderly, so I was concerned about giving him medication to calm him down and then taking him on a journey of several hours to find a pet-friendly hotel,” he said. “It wasn't a hard decision at the time because we thought it was a cat[egory] 2, maybe a cat 3. If I had known what we were going to get, I would never have stayed.”

“My original plan was to stay home with Cat 1 or 2 and go to my sister's office at the Chamber of Commerce when it was Cat 3. If it were worse, I would leave town. But I talked myself out of it when it looked like it was going to hit 50 to 70 miles west. The forecasts for the storm were varied and we only knew for sure that we were in the bullseye a few hours before landfall. “Fortunately, the chamber office is a sturdy building, but the noise was intense,” Viola added.

Ellis said she decided to stay, but she said the decision was difficult because the rest of her family was being evacuated to various parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. “My fiancé and I discussed the potential impacts of the hurricane and decided to stay because our house is sturdy,” she said.

When the hurricane made landfall, Ellis said, “I was scared as hell because the roar outside sounded like a train going through. We huddled in the hallway and closet for shelter and prayed that God would be with us.”

Shortly after the hurricane made landfall, power outages occurred across the region.

McNeil's husband turned on the generator and tried to help a neighbor who has a motorized hospital bed. “As I was trying to run an extension cord from the house next door, an armadillo came through a hole in the backyard fence and chased my husband,” she said. “He lost his phone and glasses during the chase. We found the phone. I wait for daybreak to find the glasses. God is that good. He spared us and allows us to help others. I am humbled and grateful.”

When asked about the damage outside her home, McNeil hesitated, then replied, “I don't look outside.”

Viola, who lives in a mobile home, was grateful when he was finally able to leave the safety of the chamber building to check on his home.

“My house seems to have miraculously escaped the damage,” he said. “I have to clean up a garden, but the house is intact. Now that I know the house is fine, I have to wonder who knows how long it will be without power. But I will choose this over the alternative.”

After being hit by three hurricanes — Idalia, Debby and Helene — in 13 months, Viola said the damage in Perry wasn't as bad as he expected. “Some places were definitely damaged, but the mass loss of trees is not as bad as Hurricane Idalia.”

However, he is extremely concerned about Taylor County's coastal residents.

“I feel like I'm happy for myself and my dad and I'm scared for everyone who has suffered harm, especially the people on the coast where many people have lost everything,” he said.