Picking Up The Pieces In Florida After Irma's Devastation

After the storm finally clears, people returned home to inspect the wreckage.

Ariel Zambelich Contributing Photo Editor

Posted on September 12, 2017, at 12:03 p.m. ET

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Near the southern tip of Florida, there's a trailer park on Plantation Island, just outside of Everglades City. Only several hundred people inhabit the coastal town, which abuts Everglades National Park. It was one of the hardest hit parts of the state.

Once the storm passed, residents of the small community started sifting through the wreckage, salvaging the personal items they could and trying to wrap their heads around what lay ahead. Photographer Nicole Craine spent the day documenting their experience.

Residents clear debris in their mobile homes in Plantation Island, just south of Everglades City.

Family photos are rescued from flood waters inside of Derrick Daffin's mobile home and spread out to dry.

Silt and water covers the floors inside Derrick Daffin's home.

Kenny Crippen's mobile home, surrounded by debris from the storm.

Kenny Crippen, 65, on the front porch of his neighbor's house. He escaped his home as flood waters were rising and the rooftop was ripped away.

Residents clear debris from their mobile homes after they're able to safely survey the damage from the storm.

Marlene Segein carries some of her belongings past the wreckage of her home. "[It's the] worst thing I've ever been through in my life," she said. "I thought for sure I was going to die. I'm still shaking."

Jacob Pennell, 39, brings supplies to his uncle Harvey, greeting him with an embrace. Pennell said he'd previously only cried over the deaths of his father, grandmother and grandfather, but had been in tears on Monday over the destruction."It ain't as big as Houston," he said, "but it's just as bad."

Flood waters and swamp mud cover the streets of Everglades City.

Contact Ariel Zambelich at ariel.zambelich@buzzfeed.com.

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