Punta Gorda couple deals with flooding after Helene

A Punta Gorda couple is recovering after the storm surge from Helene went through their dream home.

Ashley and Christian Harris live in the Punta Gorda Historic District. Ashley Harris said she loves her home.

“It’s our forever home,” said Ashley Harris. “It was my dream to live on this street. We got married in the backyard last year.”

The couple has dealt with three floods in the last year and a half.

“The first time it flooded since we owned it was during Idalia,” said Christian. “We didn’t know what to expect and luckily we have good contactor friends. As soon as we could drive down the street they were in here ripping out stuff.”

By the time Helene came around, they thought they were ready. They put low items off the ground and onto countertops.

That was not enough to combat the storm surge. Christian said there was up to 33 inches of water inside of their home.

Harris measured 47 inches of water outside of his home. Despite their woes, he said he is staying optimistic and hoping his neighbors are faring well.

“It could be a lot worse. We’re definitely praying for a lot of our neighbors,” said Harris. “Most of them have never had water in their house because their houses are higher, but now they’ve lost cars in the garages. We’re not the only ones that are dealing with this right now.”

Other residents in the area said this was the worst flooding they had ever seen, even taking into account Hurricane Ian.