"Heed the warning": Survivors of Helene's flooding reflect as recovery begins

State of play: Hurricane Helene walloped Tampa Bay, pushing record storm surge onto Pinellas County's barrier islands and other low-lying areas. Across the region, residents had the same reaction: They'd never seen it this bad.

• At least seven people died in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Four of those deaths were in Pinellas beach communities Indian Rocks Beach and Treasure Island, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Friday morning.
• At least two appeared to die from drowning, Gualtieri said. Authorities are still determining the details and notifying family members.
• The county received 1,500 rescue calls during the height of the storm that they couldn't respond to because of the worsening conditions, Gualtieri told Axios. First responders conducted more than 500 water rescues in Pinellas alone.

Meanwhile, the aftermath on the barrier islands was "like a war zone" Friday morning, Gualtieri said. "It's going to take a while before that area gets back to any sense of functionality."

• Access to the beaches remained closed Friday afternoon as authorities continued to touch base with residents and assess damage. When they'll open again is unclear.
• Sand from receding storm surge covered large swaths of Gulf Boulevard and other beach roads, piling up "like snow banks," the sheriff said.
• Some residents began trekking over bridges on foot after the storm passed, carrying duffel bags, suitcases and backpacks.

Zoom in: Swan, 31, was house-sitting for a friend in Madeira Beach when Helene's storm surge began to overtake the island Thursday night.

• At its worst, around 11:30pm, water had risen to his chest. He waded around the home, switching out plates in kitchen cabinets with his friend's important documents.
• Once water receded to his hip, he cleared off a spot on the counter, grabbed towels for pillows and stretched his legs over the stovetop to get some fitful sleep.
• "It definitely makes you think … about life and choices and priorities," Swan said.

From their second-floor apartment in St. Pete Beach, Yousef, 35, and Abbott, 29, became surprise caretakers for their less-fortunate neighbors.

• Several people waded through what they estimated was 6.5 to 7 feet of storm surge — one woman carrying a cat on her head — and up the steps to the balcony outside the apartment.
• The couple passed out towels, blankets and water. "In a moment like that, they don't seem like strangers," Yousef said.

• Abbott estimated that, during the worst of it, the water rose about 3 feet in an hour. It almost covered Yousef's sedan in the parking lot, which is now totaled. The complex Dumpster floated away.

Elsewhere in the region, muck and debris were scattered in yards and on roads where storm surge had crept in from Tampa Bay and its connected waterways.

• Just some of the debris washed up on land in coastal Pinellas: chunks of broken docks, multiple speedboats and kayaks, a chlorine jug, a drum barrel, dozens of plastic spoons, and a yellow pool noodle.
• "Stupidity, probably," is how Seminole resident Jeff Hutchins, 70, described his reasoning to stay put, even though his home was in Zone A under mandatory evacuations.
• Water crept about a foot from his garage door, higher than he'd seen it in his 35 years living off 74th Avenue North. At a neighbor's house, a jet ski that didn't belong to her had washed up at her front gate.

What they're saying: "Heed the warning" was Hutchins' takeaway from the storm and his decision to stay.

• "Eventually it's going to hit us, and this time, it did."

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that it's Andrew Swan, not Austin, who spent Hurricane Helene house-sitting his friend's Madeira Beach home.