Still rattled by flooding from Debby, thousands of people in Sarasota are filling sandbags ahead of Helene. Some say they're worried about a repeat.
Natalia Serra says Debby flooded her house with more than a foot of water. That was just a month and half ago.
"So I'm a little scared right now. But at least we're going to be more prepared. We're going to move everything, pick up everything, try to cover the entrance."
Robin Palmer says her Sarasota home flooded in the tropical storm, too.
"We're not even back in our house yet," Palmer said.
She's been staying with her sister in North Port, and commuting all the way to Bradenton.
"Actually, I'm OK," Palmer said. "I wasn't at first, all I did was cry. But at this point, it is what it is. You can't change it other than, let's get this insurance rolling."
Her son Spencer is shoveling sand into bags, to protect the doors and garage of their empty house, in the hopes it doesn't flood again.
He says they were taken by surprise, with Debby.
"We didn't prep at all because we didn't think anything was going to happen," he said. "And now we're over prepping hopefully so nothing will happen. That's the goal."
Watching the piles of sand recede over the course of the day, county worker Joe Perkins says he witnessed a community coming together in hard times.
"It'd be like if there's an elderly person," Perkins said. "There are some other people who are like, 'hey, I'll help you."
Sandbag operations are open again all day Wednesday, and the rain is forecast to start Wednesday night.
