Helene roared a shore in the Big Bend last Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 miles per hour and record-breaking storm surge.

This storm underlines a complicated mix of questions for the people who live here. First, should they rebuild? And, if they do, what will that look like? And then can they afford what were already the highest home insurance rates in the country?

From 2017 to 2022, Florida homeowners saw a 45 percent increase in premiums, leaving many unable to afford insurance altogether.

Cedar Key, a Big Bend island town of about 700 people, was also one of the hardest hit. Officials estimated a quarter of the homes were destroyed.

Sue Colson is the mayor. She says the storm will fundamentally change the place she's called home for 30 years.

Sue Colson, Mayor of Cedar Key, Florida: We have to learn. We cannot fight nature and we cannot build the Titanic that will never sink. That's insane. And we still think we can do it. We can do better at building. We can do better at the codes. But then maybe we need to rethink where we place things. Maybe we shouldn't build a food market at the bottom of the hill, where it's always getting damaged.