‘I am so gutted’: Family who evacuated ahead of Helene comes back to a destroyed home

WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV/Gray News) - A family evacuated before Helene made landfall and returned to find their home destroyed.

Katy White’s home is split in half after a tree fell from Helene’s powerful winds.

White said the hardest part for her was seeing her 9-month-old’s playpen completely destroyed.

White said every time a storm has come to Florida, she and her husband discuss evacuating because their home is surrounded by trees.

White and her family decided to evacuate their home and go to Georgia. When they returned on Friday, she found her home “a total loss.”

“I am so gutted, I don’t even know what to say. I don’t have any words to say,” White said. “I always thought that I would never be in this position before but never say never cause it can always happen to you because it happened to us.”

White said the tree fell over her and her husband’s bedroom.

Friends and family have reached out to offer the couple, along with their 9-year-old, 9-month-old and three dogs, a place to stay.

White said they rent the home, so they hope to find a place to live soon.

A GoFundMe was created to help the family rebuild.

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