TREASURE ISLAND: Michael Ward – who has lived on Treasure Island off the Florida Gulf Coast for 33 years – decided to ride out Hurricane Helene despite an evacuation order. It was a decision he quickly regretted. Instead of going with his wife to his friend inland, the 67-year-old Ward stayed put. As torrential rains led to flooding, he feared he would be electrocuted in his one-story home, but the storm prevented him from even opening the door. Finally, he climbed out of the window to escape. Waist-deep in murky water, he walked about half a mile to a neighbor’s two-story house, where he spent the night. “I can’t believe this has happened. I’ve lived in Florida for 44 years and too often the reports of these storms have turned out to be wrong,” Ward told AFP. “I guess we were lucky. Treasure Island is one of a series of barrier islands opposite Saint Petersburg. Late Thursday night, Helene claimed one life in this town of 6,500, home mostly to retirees and wealthy professionals. Overall, dozens were killed in the storm in the United States. The storm surge reached nearly seven feet (2.1 meters). Sidewalks are covered in mud, and random items that the flood didn’t anchor—sofas, beds, refrigerators, and doors—are strewn outside the houses.
