How were Harlem Heights residents affected by Helene?

A community filled with water nearly two years ago is dry two years later, even after the storm surge of Helene, and now residents told us why.

Harlem Heights saw a wealth of flooding during Hurricane Ian, and even though they saw flooding that fully covered cars, the community took a back seat to others in recovery.

Now, after Helene, they are pointing to one specific thing.

It’s cleaning up the street and drains.

Neighbors said they’re shocked at how well the area did as a whole because this community was hit hard during Ian. However, we spoke to a woman whose parents live in a house in Harlem Heights.

Every day since Ian, she told us her dad has been making repairs, fixing leaks and fixing roof damage. She just wants an end to it.

Sonya Rodriguez told us that since Ian, her mom and dad’s home has been through a lot, and after Helene, she feels like, in a way, it’s the same thing all over again.

Cynthia DeJesus, who lives near Sonya’s parents, said that while the storm was impactful, the community didn’t flood as badly as it did during Ian.

“We put all our stuff together, and there was a lot of wind. We prayed all night, making sure water didn’t come. There was blessing outside of a blessing that we didn’t get as much, as water as the surrounding, but we did get runoff,” DeJesus said.

Lee County told us they cleaned the drains and did focus on Harlem Heights, but Rodriguez just wishes her parents could get more help.

“I moved out of here a while ago, but really, we been here our whole lives. Who better knows what we need than us? Dad here is dealing with this mold it’s just, ugh,” she said.

Rodriguez and DeJesus told us that many older people live in this community, so it’s hard for them to pick up and leave during the storm and also hard for them to fix the repairs. However, they are thankful Helene did not damage the community as much as Ian did.