Tropical Storm Ian: After flooding, St. Johns begins clean-up; Gov. Ron DeSantis visits St. Augustine

Videos of severe flooding in downtown St. Augustine and nearby neighborhoods made their way to social media as Hurricane Ian passed by, but the storm surge, tide and wind had mostly gone back out to sea by early Friday morning.

Left behind was damage to businesses and homes — though the amount wasn't immediately clear — along the cobblestoned streets of the historic city and the surrounding areas of St. Johns County.

By Friday afternoon, county officials had lifted the evacuation order and closed emergency shelters, but Solomon Calhoun Community Center opened as a post-impact shelter for those unable to return to their homes.

Gov. Ron DeSantis visited one of the harder hit areas in St Johns County, the Davis Shores neighborhood, Friday afternoon.

Also in St. Johns County: Vilano Beach house in precarious position after Tropical Storm Ian erodes sand, structure

'We got lucky': Jacksonville spared as Tropical Storm Ian moved offshore

DeSantis said the state could work with FEMA to potentially expand eligibility for assistance from the federal government beyond Southwest Florida into Northeast Florida. Currently, individuals in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties can apply for federal assistance.

DeSantis also said that it will take "some time" to know the scope of the cost of Hurricane Ian's damage to Florida but that state funds were already in use in preparation for the storm.

"We did $300 million from the time that storm developed...declared the state of emergency and got in," DeSantis said. "We were able to do that and that has helped with the response tremendously...That money was there, ready to go."

While businesses closest to the Intracoastal suffered some flood damage, some will reopen this weekend as owners and employees return after evacuation orders were lifted.

By 7 a.m. Friday, the restaurant managers and owners who could were already preparing to open for business. Wind carried the smell of smoked meat from Mojo Old City BBQ, which planned to reopen Friday, and all The Kookaburra's locations were open by afternoon.

Some St. Augustine businesses have more clean-up ahead of them

Chris Tyler, the kitchen manager at Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille, a popular spot on the Matanzas River, was aided by other workers and some helpful passer-by to remove sandbags from the doors of the restaurant with the hopes of opening on Saturday.

There were several inches of water in the restaurant, but nothing that couldn't be fixed and cleaned by the weekend.

Some other business owners and residents were not so lucky.

Michelle and Leo Trainor, the owners of Adventure Pets, a boutique dog store on Cordova Street, told the Times-Union they have no idea when their store will reopen. At least two inches of water filled their store and damaged the floor and carpet. They're not sure if the freezer that held ice cream for dogs made it through the storm.

"We put mostly everything on tables," Leo Trainor said. "We have these little flood gates that the building owner has made for us. But unfortunately...there's water marks halfway up the building so it all came over the flood barriers."

Vilano Beach house on wooden stilts deemed unsafe

On Vilano Beach, a two-story house was in a precarious position Friday morning after a storm surge during Tropical Storm Ian eroded the sand beneath the building. The house's wooden stilts are completely exposed with no sand to support the bottom of the house.

Florida Department of Transportation workers were there Friday afternoon to start shoring up the highway with gravel and sandbags, but it's unclear yet what will be done about the house, which had an "unsafe" sticker on it.

St. Johns County Emergency Management announced Friday that residents needing assistance with damage from Hurricane Ian may call the Home Cleanup Hotline to get help with cutting fallen trees, removing drywall, flooring, and appliances, tarping roofs, and mold mitigation.

Floodwaters 'bleed through walls' of St. Augustine home

A couple in Davis Shores boarded up their doors against Hurricane Ian, but the floodwaters found another way in.

Kenneth Thrower said they moved into the house on Coquina Avenue in April. Now, they may have to rebuild.

"Within 20, 30 minutes it was rising inches," said Thrower about the flooding.

Thrower talked of chest-deep water outside the home and two feet of water inside.

While they tried to block the water from coming through doors, the water came through the walls.

"It started coming up through the foundation, so the cracks in the wall started bleeding water," he said. "The tile was bubbling."

First Coast News reporter Renata Di Gregorio contributed to this report. See her full story here.

Distribution of free water

St. Johns County is distributing water at these locations:

• St. Augustine Amphitheatre, 1340C A1A South, St. Augustine

• Solomon Calhoun Community Center, 1300 Duval St., St. Augustine

• Flagler Estates Community Center, 9960 Oliver Ave., Hastings

• W.E. Harris Community Center, 400 E. Harris St., Hastings

Need help or want to help?

Solomon Calhoun Community Center, 1300 Duval St., is open as a post-impact shelter for residents who can't return home.

Also, Home Cleanup Hotline will try to connect volunteers with residents needing help with damage from Ian. Call 800-451-1954 for assistance. Volunteers wanting to help residents with storm clean-up should visit www.volunteerflorida.org.

Hurricane Ian debris disposal

The following transfer stations are open in St. Johns County for household and yard debris related to the storm:

• Stratton Road Transfer Station, 250 N. Stratton Road, St. Augustine

• Tillman Ridge Transfer Station, 3005 Allen Nease Road, Elkton

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Tropical Storm Ian floods downtown St. Augustine; Gov. DeSantis visits