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Communities along Alafia River that flooded after Hurricane Helene standing strong one year later

Communities along Alafia River that flooded after Hurricane Helene standing strong one year later
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RIVERVIEW, Fla. — It's been a tough year for many families recovering from Hurricane Helene, which hit one year ago this week.

For some homes nestled along the Alafia River, the storm brought a deluge of devastation.

WATCH: Communities along Alafia River that flooded after Hurricane Helene standing strong one year later

Communities along Alafia River that flooded after Hurricane Helene standing strong one year later

Oak Street in Riverview was one of the few communities left reeling.

"It took a while. It's still taking a little while to finish the windows, but we're almost there,” said Sue Luther Link.

Luther Link and her family let Tampa Bay 28 into their home just days after Helene to show us the damage, a storm that brought the river into their home.

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Nearly a year later, we checked in to see how the neighborhood is recovering.

"A little at a time. One would get done, and the next one would get done, and I think we only have one more house on the street, maybe two, that aren't finished,” said Luther Link.

Nick Clark lives a few houses down.

"It had never flooded here in history before,” said Clark. "We ended up with like two feet of water in the house."

Clark shared some lessons learned along the way.

“It definitely opened our eyes and exposed us in a lot of ways that we didn’t think we would have to be concerned with,” said Clark. "I went and made kind of my DIY version of makeshift flood barriers, so now instead of just putting up hurricane shutters, I get to also install flood barriers."

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