After Annette Pawluk found out her husband and all of their neighbors had weathered Hurricane Helene with great discomfort, but uninjured, she wondered about the cat.
She and other residents of her 47-unit condominium complex had adopted a stray cat by leaving out water and food for the feline, who became a mascot of sorts in the development. But the hurricane and its accompanying storm surge left the residents — four- and two-legged alike — vulnerable.
“I was so afraid to even ask if she survived,” she said.
Pawluk and her husband, Paul, moved to New Port Richey, just north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf Coast, in 2019, from Hermitage, when they had the opportunity to buy a condominium. Annette, a retired Farrell Area School District math teacher, and Paul had wintered in Florida for a few years before making the permanent move.
When Helene struck Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 26, Annette was back in the Shenango Valley visiting friends and relatives. Paul remained behind in Florida, even though the forecast left her hesitant.
Summertime hurricanes are a matter of routine in Florida, although the typical storm path usually spares the state’s western coast. Annette suspected Helene would be different.
“I had such a feeling of dread this time,” she said.
In a matter of minutes, Annette said, the water — Helene’s storm surge hit at high tide, which multiplied the devastation — was up to her husband’s chest.
“And he’s a big guy,” she said.
Paul and their neighbors escaped the deluge by scrambling onto a balcony, even carrying an 85-year-old resident who might not have otherwise been able to reach safety.
“He went through all night long out on the balcony in the cold,” Annette said.
The next day, after Helene passed through, another battle began. The floodwaters swamped vehicles, destroyed furniture and possessions, knocked out utility services and left behind a sludge that covered floors, walls and appliances.
Annette’s voice caught a little bit when she described how Paul said he had to throw out her large collection of shoes — a lost piece of her teen years working at what was once “The World’s Largest Shoe Store.”
“I’m a shoe fanatic,” she said. “My very first job was at Reyers when I was 18.”
Within a few days of the storm, the parking lot of the Pawluk’s condominium complex was littered with Helene’s detritus — large piles of trash, spoiled food and sodden carpeting.
“It stinks so bad,” Annette said, passing along Paul’s assessment. “It’s salt water, the sewers backed up. You can’t salvage anything.”
With the flooding, some low-lying ground remains covered in water – ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, which raises the prospect of insect-borne diseases like West Nile Virus. Authorities recommend that residents in the devastated area wear long sleeves and long pants, counsel Annette finds ruefully laughable because western Florida is still blisteringly hot during the day.
For days, Paul was without a vehicle or even a place to sleep because all the rental cars and hotel rooms had been claimed. Finally, on the Tuesday five days after Helene, Paul found a rental car — 10 miles from their home.
“How is he supposed to get there?” Annette asked.
Annette said she is at the point where she has to laugh to keep from crying.
“We’re just going day by day, making light of the situation,” she said.
The Pawluks lost not only Annette’s shoes and furniture, but also her collection of compact discs of the Beatles and other favorite bands. She embraced one small nugget of good news — her autographed Jimmy Buffett poster was above the high-water line, and survived.
While Annette was joyful that her husband and their neighbors survived and said her possessions can be replaced, getting a new poster would have been difficult — Buffett died in 2023.
Annette said she will buy new compact discs. But she will have to pay to replace them, and everything else, out of pocket. She and her husband do not carry flood insurance.
With hurricanes becoming more common and more intense in recent years — recognized by most meteorologists as being a outcome of increased water temperatures caused by climate change — insurance carriers have opted out of offering flood insurance policies in Florida.
Those that still offer the service have set premium prices so high that many residents opt to roll the dice.
“Nobody can afford flood insurance down there,” Annette said. “We said, just put away some money for when something happens.”
She said her family has sufficient funds “put away,” but some of their neighbors will struggle without help.
“I tell people to pray,” Annette said. “Pray and send support.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been stepping up to help those affected, she said, with an inspector expected to have stopped by over the weekend.
“For what they have done so far for us, I would give them a high five,” Annette said.
Even before the residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast have recovered from Helene, another hurricane is on its way. The Associated Press is reporting that a tropical storm named Milton is reaching hurricane intensity and is expected to hit the Tampa area — again, hitting the Pawluks’ home — Wednesday.
Milton’s track is expected to cross Florida from west to east, sparing other southeastern U.S. states still reeling from Helene, which took a northerly route into Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Annette is returning to Florida this week and she knows there is a long struggle ahead.
“I’m going to have to bust butt,” she said. “I feel so bad because my husband is doing this by himself. I can hear the stress in his voice.”
But there will be a friend waiting when she returns. During the storm, Paul found their stray cat in a tree and got it to a neighbor, who sheltered it under the hood of a barbecue grill.
“After everything was said and done, and the water started to recede, she was still there,” Annette said “(Paul) said she was just so happy.”
To assist those affected by the hurricanes, see the web sites for American Red Cross (www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html/) and Salvation Army (give.helpsalvationarmy.org/give/166081/#!/donation/checkout).
