At least 30 people have died in the area around Asheville, North Carolina. “Those communities no longer resemble what they were a week ago,” one official said.

The hurricane’s death toll rose Sunday to at least 84 people across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.

To those who live on the narrow spit of land that is the Pass-a-Grille neighborhood — the tail end of barrier islands extending from St. Pete Beach up to Clearwater known as “The Key West of Tampa Bay beaches” — it’s a slice of paradise developed at the turn of the century and historically sheltered from major storms.