NJ woman loses ‘everything’ as deadly Hurricane Helene crashes into Florida

New Jersey will help Florida and the Southeast recover from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm late Thursday night in northwestern Florida.

Already, the monster storm with 140 mph wind has killed nearly a dozen people from Florida to North Carolina. 

'I lost everything all over again'

Among those caught by the storm is Jasmine Rodriguez, a former producer for New Jersey 101.5's Big Joe Henry. She returned Friday morning to 4 feet of water inside her home in New Port Richey, northeast of Tampa.

Rodriguez, a native of Long Branch, posted video of her arrival at home and opening the front door to go inside. "Oh sh*t" was her first reaction.

"I've lost everything all over again. I mean, I've been down this road before, not even just through storms but through emotional times. My whole move down to Florida was me losing everything, and everything that I've rebuilt has just been taken away," Rodriguez said.

New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said that as Hurricane Helene passed by on Thursday, New Port Richey in Pasco County, Florida, picked up between 2 and 4 inches of rain. The top wind gust there was 56 mph, according to the Florida Severe Weather Network. Storm surge estimates for that portion of the Florida coast exceeded 10 feet.

Eighty members of New Jersey’s Task Force 1 are staged and ready for an assignment. Their team includes a specialized water rescue component comprising six boats with trailers and a water support trailer to help their response to flood-related emergencies. A smaller team is also going to Georgia.

Teams from Pennsylvania and New York are also responding as part of the National Urban Search & Rescue Response System.

Four members of the Red Cross New Jersey were pre-positioned in Flordia before the storm to support impacted communities with shelters.

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Saving the things she loves to do

Rodriguez took the things that she "loves to do" that earn her money including a heat press, Silhouette and her laptop needed for on-air radio work. One goal is to clean up the house so her granddaughter can visit and mold and mildew don't set in. That will be a challenge without electricity to run fans.

Her voice broke as she talked about what she forgot to take because she didn't take the storm seriously.

"I left things where I shouldn't have left them. A lot more got ruined than what should have because I didn't take heed," Rodriguez said. "Everything in this house got to get trashed including this photo album that I didn't take that my dad made me."

Rodriguez also lost a sewing machine she bought for her granddaughter so she could craft with her.

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