St. Pete residents prep for storm, still recovering from previous flooding
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Dozens of cars lined 9th Avenue North as residents waited 30 minutes to an hour for sandbags.
The Stormwater, Pavement & Traffic Operations center handed out sandbags until 7 p.m. Monday night, ahead of a storm that could impact the Tampa Bay area later this week.
Residents in line said after a rain storm from a few weeks ago, they want to prepare however they can. Homes and apartments were flooded out. Some residents were forced to move out of their houses.
"I think what we went through in the city of St. Pete just a few weeks ago with something that wasn't a hurricane — it was just a afternoon thunderstorm — caused a lot of problems, so we're going to get ready a little bit early," said Chris McDowell, who was waiting in line for sandbags.
But will the sandbags be enough?
Flooding on 58th Street North reached 3 to 4 feet in some spots.
"After experiencing that flood, the city only allocates so many sandbags," Pamela Strong said. "So in my situation, what I went through, what they allocate would absolutely not help at all."
News Channel 8 spoke with Strong a few days after the Sept. 3 storm. She shared pictures of flooded out cars and described walking through flooding past her knees. She did not have flood insurance, and thought she was living in a non-flood zone. This storm pushed out some of her friends, and neighbors.
"Neighbors falling ill with heart attack from the stress and that's not good," Strong said. "It was a horrific, sad experience but hopefully we don't have to go through this again."
Strong got a letter from the city that read in part "Your property is in an area that has flooded several times...the city is concerned about repetitive flooding and is actively working to help you protect yourself and your property from future flooding."
"The letter was disappointing," Strong said. "We don't want to hear how many times it's flooded. Just take responsibility and make adjustments. Don't tell me you're going to study the water flow. That's not a solution. We can study our life away but have boots on the ground when you know there's a serious problem. Clear those drains because everything's going to flow down right so we got to get those drains open. I shouldn't be the person to tell them that they should know that."
Some people getting sandbags agreed.
"I think they need to take a hard look at what they're doing after all the storms pass," McDowell said.
City leaders said they are actively working to find solutions and funding for the city's stormwater system. They have allocated millions in this fiscal year 2025 budget to the aging system.
The focus for now is this week's potential storm. The city asks residents to get prepared with storm kits, know if you are in a flood zone and check your evacuation zones.
