Sara Walsh discussing the impact Hurricane Helene had on her family Photo Credit: NFL Network

Over the past week, millions across the Southeastern United States have felt the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene. This includes NFL Network reporter Sara Walsh, who shared how the storm impacted her and her family on Wednesday’s edition of Good Morning Football (which she was guest-hosting thanks to regular host Jamie Erdahl heading to London for an NFL International Series game).

Walsh, who lives near Clearwater, Florida with her husband and her two children, was impacted quite severely by the storm. Last weekend, Walsh posted several videos on social media which showed the massive amount of water on her street.

On Good Morning Football, Walsh further discussed the impact of the storm on her community while footage of home and her husband using a raft to rescue both her children and neighbors from the flooding rolled in the background.

“Yeah, so what you are looking at is that was my pool,” said Walsh. “It’s a much larger pool if you look at it this way. That was my backyard. That was my husband rescuing the neighbors. They sent the dogs over first. And that is my daughter being taken out of my house at 2 a.m. because the house behind us caught on fire and was burning to the ground in hurricane winds. So, an unbelievably devastating, scary situation. I know how incredibly lucky I am to be sitting here right now.”

Luckily, Walsh has had a great support system at the NFL Network in this difficult time, which she went on to discuss.

“I can tell you that some people are like ‘How are you working?’. Everyone here at the NFL Network has been beyond supportive,” Walsh added. “The one thing you learn in disasters is how much people care. You see a side in humanity that you sort of forgot was there. I can’t say enough how overwhelmed myself and pretty much everyone I know has been by just the outpouring of support.

“I live on Clearwater Beach. It is completely and utterly decimated. Almost to the point that it doesn’t exist. Every single person I know out on Clearwater Beach lost their home. My parents’ house flooded. My aunt’s house flooded.

“And this is not just in Florida. This is all over where Hurricane Helene hit. The positive is the NFL community is incredibly strong. I can’t tell you, coaches, GMs just the amount of people that have reached out. And just how nice it is to be sitting here. To have the luxury of sitting here in this GMFB studio this morning. It really is a luxury given what the last couple of days have been like.”

Kyle Brandt then chimed in, offering his condolences for what Walsh and her family have been through in the past few days while also thanking her for being present on the show given how much life for her outside of her media responsibilities has been altered.

“Sara, first of all, our hearts (are) broken for those videos and your family, and your daughter, and your community, and your neighbors, and your parents, and everyone affected,” said Brandt. “I just want to say on behalf of the rest of us here and everyone watching, thank you so much for being here. We are so pleased and so proud of you. And our heart is broken for everybody in that region. Thank you for bringing attention.”

The unfortunate reality is that as Walsh alluded to, Hurricane Helene has affected far more than just Walsh and even just the Clearwater area. The storm ended up spanning 600 miles, affecting regions all across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia. It had resulted in at least 175 deaths as of Wednesday morning.

If you would like to help the victims of Hurricane Helene, you can do so by donating to the Red Cross Hurricane Helene relief fund

[Good Morning Football on X]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.