ST PETE BEACH, Fla. — Two years after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region, St. Pete Beach is still working through its recovery.
According to NOAA, Helene caused over $78 billion in damage and killed more than 250 people across six states, including Florida. Storm surge reached 5 to 8 feet in some areas of the Tampa Bay region.
WATCH St. Pete Beach business owner rebuilds after losing home in Helene 2 years ago
Most businesses on St. Pete Beach have reopened, but signs of the storm remain. Some storefronts still have tape on their windows. Some hotels still have garbage bins out front.
Liz Calver owns Betty Shop on St. Pete Beach, a family business she started with her mother 15 years ago and named after her grandmother. Two years ago, she also lived on the beach — until Helene took that home away.
In the days leading up to Sept. 26, 2024, Calver spent her time sandbagging both her store and her home, just five minutes away. But when the water came, the preparations were not enough.
"It was around maybe 5 to 5:30 that it was partially sunny out and it wasn't windy, and there was...it just felt like a normal day and then within about an hour's time. You could kind of see the water creeping up the street a little bit," Calver said.
Calver, her husband, her son and their two dogs hunkered down to wait out the surge. But their home was single-story, and by 8 p.m., the situation had become dangerous.
With water crashing into the home, Calver put her son on a boogie board with a life jacket and sent him across the flooded street to a neighbor's two-story home.
"I said you've got to just swim. I'm gonna push you out, and you've just gotta swim to Uncle Russ's house, which is our neighbor. And I said, 'Just scream mommy so I know I can hear you,' because it was pitch black and so I pushed him out and I could just hear him screaming and screaming, and then I heard our neighbor Russ in the background saying that he got him," Calver said.
Calver, her husband, her son, and their two dogs all eventually made it across the street. Their rental home was destroyed.
Then came the task of checking on Betty Shop. About 4 feet of water had entered the store, causing mold and forcing it to close.
"This shop, we've been here 8 years, but we've been in business 15, and um, I started it with my mom. My son literally grew up in it like it's such a family shop and it's named after my grandmother so to me it's like so deeply personal," Calver said.
Calver was able to reopen Betty Shop in the early spring of 2025 — the first business in her plaza to reopen, just six months after Helene.
But keeping the doors open has not been easy.
"I just kinda feel like we're like this little tiny speck of dust in this big storm, and um it's getting to the point where like we've worked really hard to get open and stay open, but it's becoming increasingly difficult," Calver said.
Recovery is continuing across the community. The Luce, a neighboring business in Calver's plaza, recently reopened in July, and business is slowly returning to the area.
On Friday, the Corey Avenue Sip and Stroll will bring the community together from 5 to 8 p.m. to recognize the hard work of the past two years and look ahead to continued recovery. The Beach Theater is also doing a special showing of "9 to 5" at 7 p.m.
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