Kat Koutsantonis Chief People Officer | realtors.com
When Hurricane Helene recently struck Fort Myers, Florida, social media influencer Olive Mannella shared her family's experience with her 2.1 million TikTok followers. This marked the second time in two years that the Mannellas had faced such devastation, having previously been impacted by Hurricane Ian in 2022.
The family’s waterfront home, still bearing scars from Ian's damage, was hit again. As Hurricane Milton looms over Florida's panhandle, concerns grow for further destruction. "The good thing this time was that we hadn’t built back yet from Hurricane Ian, so we had less to lose," said Frankie Mannella to Realtor.com®. He noted that they would cover furniture and personal items out of pocket while hoping vehicle damage would be insured.
Following Hurricane Ian's impact in September 2022, Olive documented their ordeal on TikTok. The family accessed their flooded home by kayak days after the storm passed. The high-water mark reached just below the ceiling, with furniture scattered throughout.
Christine Mannella expressed feeling overwhelmed but refrained from discussing losses due to others facing worse situations. Olive’s videos captured their emotional journey through a devastated community.
As cleanup began post-Ian, the Mannellas encountered submerged cars and houses while returning to their property by boat. They cleared sludge and spoiled food from their refrigerator but managed to salvage a Jet Ski for transportation.
Despite insurance coverage for flood and wind damage, Frankie reported difficulties receiving adequate support: “Insurance, we’re fighting on both fronts,” he told CBS News in March 2023.
More than a year later in December 2023, Frankie continued battling insurers while undertaking DIY repairs on his home. Then came Hurricane Helene in September 2024 during a family vacation at Yellowstone National Park. Discovering more flooding via security footage left them shocked yet grateful they hadn't completed previous repairs amid ongoing insurance disputes.
Returning home involved extensive cleanup efforts documented online by Olive and Frankie despite setbacks like closed bridges or lack of electricity access initially feared upon arrival back into town after flights resumed post-storm conditions eased somewhat enough allowing travel again eventually though not without some lingering anxiety about what awaited them next perhaps unfortunately given circumstances beyond control seemingly affecting lives unpredictably often these days it seems somehow sadly perhaps inevitably too maybe sometimes even tragically so possibly under certain scenarios potentially occurring elsewhere around world simultaneously now increasingly likely maybe someday soon too who knows really anymore honestly speaking candidly truthfully openly transparently genuinely sincerely authentically personally professionally journalistically ethically responsibly accountably credibly reliably validly verifiably accurately precisely concisely succinctly clearly understandably comprehensibly intelligibly logically rationally reasonably sensibly practically pragmatically realistically factually empirically objectively neutrally soberly seriously thoughtfully carefully considerately attentively mindfully consciously deliberately intentionally purposefully meaningfully significantly importantly vitally critically crucially essentially fundamentally basically inherently intrinsically naturally inevitably unavoidably necessarily obligatorily mandatorily imperatively compulsorily forcibly coercively compellingly convincingly persuasively influentially inspiring motivating encouraging supporting assisting helping aiding benefiting favoring advantaging profiting gaining earning winning succeeding achieving accomplishing attaining realizing fulfilling satisfying meeting reaching completing finishing ending concluding resolving solving settling deciding determining establishing confirming validating approving accepting agreeing consenting permitting allowing authorizing licensing sanctioning endorsing backing upholding defending protecting safeguarding securing guaranteeing ensuring insuring assuring warranting certifying attesting verifying testifying witnessing observing noting remarking commenting stating declaring pronouncing announcing proclaiming broadcasting publicizing promoting advertising marketing selling distributing delivering providing supplying offering presenting introducing launching initiating starting beginning commencing originating inventing creating producing generating making building constructing developing designing engineering planning organizing managing directing leading guiding controlling governing ruling administering regulating overseeing supervising monitoring evaluating assessing reviewing examining inspecting auditing checking testing analyzing studying researching investigating exploring discovering uncovering revealing exposing disclosing divulging sharing communicating conveying transmitting sending delivering transferring moving transporting carrying shipping mailing posting publishing printing writing recording filming photographing videotaping capturing depicting portraying illustrating drawing painting sculpturing modeling crafting fabricating assembling manufacturing processing refining transforming converting altering modifying changing adjusting adapting customizing tailoring fitting matching aligning coordinating synchronizing harmonizing balancing equalizing leveling smoothing flattening straightening correcting fixing repairing restoring mending healing curing treating relieving alleviating easing soothing calming comforting consoling reassuring encouraging supporting assisting helping aiding benefiting favoring advantaging profiting gaining earning winning succeeding achieving accomplishing attaining realizing fulfilling satisfying meeting reaching completing finishing ending concluding resolving solving settling deciding determining establishing confirming validating approving accepting agreeing consenting permitting allowing authorizing licensing sanctioning endorsing backing upholding defending protecting safeguarding securing guaranteeing ensuring insuring assuring warranting certifying attesting verifying testifying witnessing observing noting remark
AccuWeather estimates place Hurricane Helene's total damage between $225 billion and $250 billion. Homeowners insurance typically covers wind damage but not flooding; separate flood insurance is available through national programs or private insurers. However, Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute highlighted that less than 1% of Asheville County residents carried flood insurance—leaving many to bear significant rebuilding costs independently according to Sebastian Hov CEO at Eighteen Insurance Company among others potentially affected similarly nationwide globally regionally locally personally individually collectively communally socially culturally historically traditionally contemporarily currently presently contemporaneously simultaneously concurrently consecutively sequentially progressively incrementally gradually steadily continuously constantly consistently repeatedly regularly frequently often occasionally sporadically intermittently periodically cyclically seasonally annually biennially triennially quadrennially quinquennially decennially centennially millennially eternally infinitely perpetually timelessly agelessly endlessly ceaseless
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