Jesse Scheckner
Residents of the census-designated area of Hudson in Pasco County aren’t mincing words with would-be robbers looking to capitalize on Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Several of them living in the Sea Pines neighborhood have erected makeshift signs outside their homes warning against looting. At least one reads, “You Loot We Shoot.”
JoEllen Conover, a Sea Pines resident who runs a natural soaps business, posted pictures of some of them on TikTok and Instagram. She shared others with Newsweek, which first reported on the signs Wednesday.
@joellensnaturalsoaps Day 6~ the piles of belongings being tossed to street is growing. Pickers and theives have made there way into the area. FEMA is no where to be found. Trash pick up is delayed and the rotten food smell is overwhelming. #hudsonflorida #fyp #hurricanehelene #flooded #FEMA
Conover told the outlet that Helene brought a 5-foot storm surge to Sea Pines that submerged much of her home and those of her neighbors “up to the kitchen countertops.” After the storm passed, many took their possessions outside to dry.
Then came the drive-by opportunists.
“Before any of us were even able to assess the damages to our homes, we were preyed upon by people driving around, waiting for us to throw away our sewage-soaked belongings,” she said.
“It was like a violation — people were picking through what was our lives just 24 hours before.”
Other improvised signs admonishing the thieves Conover snapped shots of and shared with Newsweek said, “No Loots,” “No Looting! Scram,” and “No Looting Go Away.”
One comment on Conover’s post read, “I can’t imagine humanless humans walking amongst us taking advantage during times like this.” Another read, “Typically things set out on the curb are up for grabs but people are picking through sewage soaked furniture and reselling it on Facebook marketplace.”
A third person suggested the grab-and-goers misunderstood what was going on. “Imagine throwing something away and putting it outside, and then being furious that some desperate person comes and tries to use it, rather than it going to a landfill,” he wrote. Some commenters agreed. Others, not so much. “Absolutely not — you come and take something that was ruined in a storm and it’ll be hands.”
Hurricane Helene struck Florida’s Big Bend at Category 3 strength on Sept. 26, bringing massive flooding and maximum sustained winds of 140 mph as it traveled northeasterly through Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. With a reported death toll exceeding 230, it’s the most lethal storm to strike the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.
Now Milton is approaching the Gulf Coast south of Tampa Bay at Category 4 strength with maximum winds of 130 mph as of 2 p.m., threatening another deluge in Pasco and a significant stretch of the coast from Flamingo northward to Yankeetown.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis offered his own warning to looters.
“If you go into somebody’s house after a storm passes, think you’re going to be able to commit crimes, you’re going to get in really serious trouble,” he said during a briefing at the Emergency Operations Center. “You don’t know what’s behind that door in a Second Amendment state.”
2 comments
My Take
October 9, 2024 at 3:41 pm
There are going to be mistakes.
Taking discarded items clearly in a trash pile its is usually OK. “Curb shopping”
Looking in a neighbor’s to make sure they are not there an unconscious or dread is irresponsible behavior.
But in red Florida we’ll more likely hear: “He was black. He had to be looting.”
My Take
October 9, 2024 at 3:43 pm
Taking discarded items clearly in a trash pile is usually OK.
“Curb shopping”
Looking in a neighbor’s house to make sure they are not there and unconscious or dread is responsible behavior.
But in red Florida we’ll more likely hear: “He was black. He had to be looting.”