ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — People who live on St. Pete Beach said flooding has been an ongoing issue for years, since Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and now they are hoping for change.
The City of St. Pete Beach is now working to resolve the issue.
"It comes all the way up you know, it comes halfway up the driveway…it depends on the storm, how bad they are…but it’ll reach the front of the house, you know," said Rich Bobel who lives on St. Pete Beach.
Bobel said ever since Hurricane Helene, his neighborhood on St. Pete Beach floods with a simple everyday storm.
"Our corner floods out almost every storm, sewer backs up and then the water just floods into everybody’s yards," said Bobel
He said it’s something homeowners are concerned about.
"It's a scary thing because you're worried about it coming into your house, you know these houses aren't up that high," said Bobel.
Sam Angelides Jr. also lives in the Belle Vista neighborhood…and said the flooding happens roughly once a month.
"It still messes up your yard, you still have to plan around worrying about cars, worrying about your plants, having salt water intrude everything can be a big problem," said Angelides Jr.
Angelides Jr. also owns a contracting company…he said many people have decided to elevate their homes to protect property.
"Being proactive and doing that is going to help keep your home in good standing," said Angelides Jr.
But he said more needs to be done.
"I think it’s really important that we dedicate as many resources as we can to figuring out how to make everything as resilient as possible," said Angelides Jr.
The City of St. Pete Beach is doing just that.
City leaders are holding a resiliency adaptation project workshop Thursday night…to evaluate flooding in areas like Belle Bista and Boca Ciega Isle. They will also receive community input and develop flood mitigation modeling,
It's the first of several workshops.
"We definitely need better drainage," said Bobel.
Bobel said he hopes something is done soon, so the neighborhood doesn’t end up flooded again like during Hurricane Helene.
"I hope they seriously look at it…because we do need help…if another storm comes we are going to be in the same situation," said Bobel.
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