SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. — Some Santa Rosa County communities faced flooding and debris from Hurricane Isaias, while others dealt with significant property damage.
In Navarre, residents found flooding in parking lots and streets, along with wind damage to a few buildings.
Stephen Strepp, a Navarre resident, said he planned to check the beach and expected water levels to be up.
“I’m going to look at the beach here in a little bit but I imagine it was a little bit high but it’s no difference than we had like the snow that we had a few years ago,” Strepp said.
Kyle Godwin said he watched damage unfold as the storm moved through.
“I didn’t expect to see that but I did see the roof fly, what I thought I saw and then ended up being true and that’s what we’re looking at right now,” Godwin said.
Even with the flooding and wind damage, some residents said the outcome could have been worse.
“So considering what could have happened, this is a blessing to a lot of people, I’m sure,” Joshua Hagenow said.
A few miles away in Gulf Breeze, residents described more widespread damage. Grace Beck said her home’s front door did not hold up during the storm.
“Our front door did not hold up as well so we had barricaded things against it to keep it from caving in. So it was a little more frightening than we thought it might be,” Beck said.
For Nikki Rice, the storm’s impact was personal. A 60-year-old tree that had been in her family for decades ended up on top of her house.
“But we have a lot of memories. We got married into the tree. It’s been here for years and now it’s gone,” Rice said.
As she looked at the damage, Rice described the uncertainty of where to start.
“It’s definitely overwhelming. I guess I don’t even know where to begin. Where would you say? Yeah, we’re just gonna start. Pick a spot and start going,” she said.