'Better is to come': Horseshoe Beach evaluates devastation, begins rebuilding after Hurricane Idalia

Idalia destroys small Florida town

Residents of Horseshoe Beach are ready to rebuild after Hurricane Idalia destroyed the small fishing community that is about 60 miles south of where the storm made landfall.

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. - Horseshoe Beach is one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Idalia. Some of the damage is incomprehensible, but people living in the area told FOX 35 News they don’t need to understand it. They just need to move forward.

Not an inch of town went unscathed. Lisa and Ricky Dorminey evacuated during Hurricane Idalia but came back on Thursday to see their home disheveled, but miraculously, still standing.

"I mean I look around and I’m just like, ‘Where did this come from?’" said Lisa Dorminey.

As they drove into town, they passed mile after mile of trees hanging on power lines. The sight when you finally reach the city limits forces you to gasp with a heavy weight on your heart.

Lisa said she’s never seen this type of devastation before, even though she’s lived in Florida for so long. Ricky Dorminey spent decades with the Army National Guard, so he has seen similar wreckage, but never in his own home.

"It makes it more personal," Ricky said. "I don’t know. It’s heart-wrenching."

Now, the couple is cleaning up. Lisa says it’s a process that’ll happen piece by piece.

"You know, you get here, and you just say, ‘Where do you start? Where do you start, what do you do?’ And you just pick a spot," Lisa said. "It’s hard, but also, each step is a little more rewarding."

The process will happen piece by piece. The couple has to get rid of a palm tree somehow hurled underneath the house. They built a pile of wood planks that came from multiple destroyed buildings surrounding their home.

They’re also sorting through valuables blown over from neighboring houses. Lisa had already found baseball cards, headphones, and a folder full of a church’s bank statements shortly after starting the cleanup process. They even found someone’s television amidst the wreckage under their house.

"I know that better is to come," Lisa said. "It happened, you’re just going to go through this. And I think you love it more. I think you appreciate it more."