RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Residents of Riviera Beach's Lone Pine community are confronting the aftermath of devastating flooding, with gutted homes, piles of belongings lining neighborhood streets and families struggling to figure out what comes next. A week after floodwaters forced residents from their homes, the damage is becoming clearer, leaving some without flood insurance and questioning whether they can afford to rebuild.
The flooding has turned once-familiar homes into cleanup projects and left residents facing the loss of belongings, memories and, in some cases, their sense of security.
WPTV reporter Michael Hoffman returned to Lone Pine after witnessing the flooding begin to speak with residents now trying to recover.
Watch report from Michael Hoffman:
81-year-old resident loses everything in flooding
For 81-year-old Hazeline Thomas, the damage is deeply personal.
Thomas walked Hoffman through her damaged home, where much of her belongings had been removed and left in piles along the curb.
"I'm all alone. And all my life saving is on the sidewalk," Thomas said.
She described being trapped inside her home as floodwaters rose around her. Thomas said the water eventually reached her neck before firefighters rescued her by boat.
"The water was up to my neck," Thomas said. "So the firefighters, the men, had to pick me up and put me in the boat."
She said rescuers also helped evacuate neighbors across the street.
Now, Thomas is facing the financial burden of cleaning out her home. She said she has had to pay people to remove damaged belongings, using money she can hardly afford to spend.
"Everybody's just stuck, and we have to be doing things on our own," Thomas said.
With her home destroyed and few resources available, Thomas said she is considering leaving Florida and returning to New York.
"What I really need to do is pack up and go back to New York," she said.
Neighbor questions Florida's future after seeing destruction
Across the street, Brittany Cole was also dealing with the aftermath.
Cole, who lives in Port St. Lucie, was cleaning out her late uncle's home in Lone Pine. Her own street avoided the flooding, but her uncle's property was affected.
Cole said she was relieved her uncle was not living in the home when the flooding happened.
"Silver lining, my uncle wasn't living here to get stuck in this," Cole said.
But seeing the destruction throughout the neighborhood has been difficult.
She said the flooding has forced her to reconsider her own future in Florida, where she was born and raised.
"I'm a native Floridian, and it makes you question how much longer do you want to live in Florida," Cole said.
Cole said the videos of the flooding were especially emotional because of the memories tied to her uncle's home and the knowledge that other residents were losing places they still depended on.
Residents face uncertainty about financial assistance and recovery
Beyond the physical destruction, residents are now confronting difficult questions about how they will recover.
For Thomas, one of the biggest concerns is the lack of flood insurance.
"I'm not insured. I don't have flood insurance. So, where do I go from here?" she asked.
Without flood insurance, Thomas faces uncertainty about how she will pay for repairs, replace her belongings, or find a place to live.
Her situation highlights the challenges facing homeowners in Lone Pine as the community begins the long cleanup process.
For residents like Thomas, the immediate concern is getting through the cleanup. But the bigger question is whether they will have the financial resources to put their lives back together.
In Lone Pine, the floodwaters have receded. The questions left behind are only beginning.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
