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'It's all gone': Hurricane Helene leaves thousands stranded and homeless in Keaton Beach

Homes and businesses in Keaton Beach are destroyed after Hurricane Helene ravished the area. The category 4 storm left thousands without power and in most cases, homeless. Sept. 28, 2024 (WFSU/Adrian Andrews)
Adrian Andrews
/
WFSU Public Media
Homes and businesses in Keaton Beach are destroyed after Hurricane Helene ravished the area. The category 4 storm left thousands without power and in most cases, homeless. Sept. 28, 2024 (WFSU/Adrian Andrews)

Keaton Beach was still trying to recover from Hurricane Idalia and Hurricane Debby.

Families in Keaton Beach who evacuated ahead of Hurricane Helene, are coming back to a ravished community.

The Category 4 storm left thousands without power and in most cases, homeless.

"I'm coming home to seeing it gone," Joe Guz, a long time resident and Keaton Beach homeowner told WFSU News on Saturday.

Joe and his family did manage to get out of town before the storm made landfall. The Guz's took refuge in Saint Augustine, FL—approximately 160 miles away from Keaton Beach.

This was his reaction to seeing his destroyed home for the first time on Saturday.

"Guz family has seen better days," Joe posted on Facebook.

Taylor County officials put out a statement that Hurricane Helene wiped out "90 percent" of the homes in Keaton Beach.

Helene was the third major hurricane to hit the area in the past 13 months.

"Just money and time wasted. We're trying to find a place to stay for the next week," Joe explained to WFSU. "We will take it from there."

Adrian Andrews is a multimedia journalist with WFSU Public Media. He is a Gadsden County native and a first-generation college graduate from Florida A&M University. Adrian is also a military veteran, ending his career as a Florida Army National Guard Non-Comissioned Officer.

Adrian has experience in print writing, digital content creation, documentary, and film production. He has spent the last four years on the staff of several award-winning publications such as The Famuan, Gadsden County News Corp, and Cumulus Media before joining the WFSU news team.