Floodlines: Shore Acres residents ponder an uncertain future
Photo: Peter Wahlberg.
Digital marketing consultant Joe Lowery had lived for two years on Helena Avenue NE in St. Petersburg’s Shore Acres neighborhood when Hurricane Helene sent upwards of seven feet of storm surge his way Sept. 26. Like many in Shore Acres, Lowery experienced some minor flooding in previous hurricanes, and assumed that Helene would be the same.
So he went to sleep, there on Helena Avenue. “I really should have known better,” Lowery said, “given the name.”
And the water rose.
“The timing of going to bed with an inch or two in the house and then waking up with water an inch or two under my mattress, three feet higher, was something I wasn’t prepared for,” Lowery said. “If it had been an inch higher, I wouldn’t have been able to sit on a table or bed.”
By 9 the next morning, the surge had receded. But the uncertainty that’s flooding Shore Acres will take far longer to wash out. Like almost every resident of St. Petersburg’s lowest-lying neighborhood, Lowery finds himself having to rebuild – and to choose.
“It’s devastating, it really is,” said Kevin Batdorf, President of the Shore Acres Civic Association. “It’s like driving through a canyon of people’s lives on the curb.”
Photo: Shay Moore.
Nestled along converted wetlands between Smacks Bayou and Bayou Grande at the mouth of Old Tampa Bay, Shore Acres and its surrounding neighborhoods have attracted young, middle class northside families since the dredging equipment used on the Gandy Bridge created the roads and the land on which its first homes were built and sold in the mid 1920s.
With its serpentine streets, mixed architecture and plentiful canals, the neighborhood has always conveyed a feeling of comfort, even coziness, to the thousands of residents living there.
But flooding has always been a risk from hurricanes, a risk supercharged by a warming climate. Once a decade floods have become almost annual occurrences; streets flood with high tide on sunny days. And now a once-in-a-century massive flooding event has left many long-time residents wondering what they can do not just to rebuild, but to feel safe again.
At Wednesday night’s community event at Shore Acres Rec Center, the water gone barely five days, Batdorf noted that approximately 45% of the neighborhood’s homes had flooded during Idalia. Official figures were not yet available, he added, but “my guess this time is that it’s going to 85-90%.”
A resident of one of those homes came to ask for advice. She’d been inundated, but her house was from 1926 – the walls were made of plaster and there was no drywall to remove. Was she okay to leave them?
No, came the answer. Try a circular saw.
Another asked if it was better to raise the house’s elevation or bulldoze it and build anew.
It depends – but raise it if you can.
Some wondered aloud if the house would hold its value if they did.
It depends.
A show of hands suggested most of those present were going through just their first or second times flooding. Amongst those who had gone through multiple rounds, exasperation was frequent – with the speed of the storm, the slowness of the response, and with local, state, and federal government, none of whom sent a representative despite the presence of several candidates and elected officials.
“There’s so many people with first-time flooding,” said Pete Boland, a restauranteur and City Council candidate for District 3, which includes Shore Acres. His home flooded, too, and he said he’d heard from many people who had never had water. Of one family he helped, “They’ve lived here 46 years, and they don’t know what to do.”
“The city and the federal government needs to step up,” said Shay Moore, a self-described “two-timer” from Harrisburg Street NE.
After flooding from Idalia, Moore poured 17 cubic yards of concrete, raising her floors a further 10 inches above sea level. Helene blew right past these defenses, sending upwards of three feet of water into her house. “I want to be able to stay,” said Moore.
Her neighbor, Vic Scimeca, was less certain. A three-year resident of Shore Acres, he described himself as “50/50” in the wake of the damage to his home. Another, Michelle Virgilio, flooded the third time with Helene.
It would be her last. “We’re not rebuilding,” she said. “I had no idea it would be this bad.”
Batdorf cautioned those present not to panic, noting that prices had recovered within a year or two of previous flood events and that unscrupulous investors were already calling around the neighborhood. But, he conceded, “I think you’re probably going to see folks that are just done.”
Photo: Peter Wahlberg.
Eileen Blackmer, a Bayou Grande Boulevard resident, was sitting outside Thursday morning, windows opened, airing out her home of 34 years. Helene was Eileen’s seventh flood in four years. Prior to that, she recalled taking on some water here or there – but nothing like she’d seen this time.
“Nobody from the city’s been by, nobody from FEMA’s been by,” Blackmer noted. She filed a claim with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as water spilled in late night Sept. 26. Since then, she’s heard nothing.
She was unsurprised – her own story was an example of the catch-22 many residents experience pushing for help preparing for storms rather than fixing damage once they happen.
“My husband and I started applying in the 90s to get this house raised,” she said. “1996, after Josephine, we found a company … they were going to raise our home. We had $4,200 left to our name after that flood because it wiped us out.
“It was going to be $8,000 to raise my house 10 feet. FEMA refused to pay the other $3,800. Since then, they’ve paid out almost $600,000 in claims on this house.”
Inside her home, furniture still lay warped and broken where it had been tossed around by the storm. The smell of brine – a throwback, she said, to when that section of Bayou Grande had been fish camps – permeated everything. In the bedrooms, antiques that had survived previous inundations sat ruined, waiting for family friends to come and toss them to the curb.
Through it all – after it all – was she going to stay?
“Oh absolutely. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been here my whole life. I’m not going anywhere.
“But I will have to do something. I’m getting up there to the age where I can’t keep doing this – and I can’t keep doing this twice a year.”
Shore Acres families are in need of plastic bins to help hold and carry items saved from area houses. Bins can be dropped off at the Islander Market at 4534 Chancellor Street NE.
Paul
October 5, 2024at9:02 am
The worst storm in history? Sunny day flooding at Venetian & Bayou Grande, Dover & Venetian, on Huntington for a block north of Connecticut several times a week? (Can you tell I live nearby?)
All a coincidence. And easy to solve. First, the state needs to remove all references to climate change from official documents. In process, thank you Gov DeSantis. Second, we need to elect a President who knows that “The concept of warming was created by and for the Chinese…” Donald J Trump
When the governor and his pals in the legislature hand the insurance companies another 70/80/100% rate increase on top of the 150% they’ve received in the past 5 years, it will absolutely solve our problems.
Jack Rice
October 4, 2024at3:02 pm
Joe Lowery is a tenant only – if he doesn’t like Shore Acres and St. Petersburg, as it is apparent the best choice is to move away- he can’t rebuild when he only a tenant! Sometimes the truth is hard to tell for some people when they choose to be in the spotlight!
Lesley
October 4, 2024at2:17 pm
Shore Acres has always had flooding issues. My parents starting going down in 1986 and spent half the year in Sunset Beach, then a condo in South Pasadena and finally Madeira. Their last stay was 2009/2010.
I have a cousin who has lived in Clearwater over 35 years, his middle son is a firefighter for Largo and one of my oldest, since first grade in 1972 friends lives in the Gulfport area for over 35 years so I’ve long time ties down there.
I considered moving down in the mid 90s and my folks took me around to different neighborhoods. They recommended not living in a flood plain and a good 10 to 15 mins away from the water but especially never, ever buying in Shore Acres because it flooded even with a typical, everyday turn on the spigot rain. Everyone knew it was a regular issue.
Wanda Thornton
October 4, 2024at1:13 pm
Please place your FEMA claim online asap and your car insurance claim now. I’m just a person that has experienced damage too and less than you have. They usually work claims as they are filed and that is my reason for stating this. Do not wait for a representative to come out, please file online even if you have to go to your local library.
Kathleen
October 4, 2024at11:03 am
Interesting 🤨 that the Fire Inspector was the problem, they didn’t have a problem approving a propane fireplace for HSN that wasn’t properly vented to the outside that blew up in my face while I lighted it for a Xmas 🎄 show ‼️🤔
I’m now deaf because of it‼️🧐
Phillip Kaiser
October 4, 2024at8:20 am
Climate change deniers – gonna continue your wanton use and tacit support of fossil fuels? Record breaking Gulf temperatures were steroids for this Cat 4 and more will come. Mother Earth is no longer tolerating those thumbing their noses at the environment. You’d be wise to do some self reflection. Science and nature don’t care about your politics or your beliefs.
darlene delvalle
October 3, 2024at8:14 pm
We can’t find a water restoration company to come out. They are all over booked, so we went on a list with 4 companys. I’m desperate to find someone. Another point is Fema makes it so difficult, as we all in the area have lost about everything. The paperwork takes forever to do a complete job. Just give us the coverage amount and take the stress off us. We have been through so much!
Georgia Earp
October 3, 2024at4:10 pm
Overall, permitting in St Pete needs to be addressed. When we replaced our windows in 2015, the city inspector wouldn’t approve the work, because one screw was missing! And, he wouldn’t tell us or the contractor what the issue was. It was a waste of the inspector’s time, and an unnecessary hurdle to completion of the job. It took a small business owner down the street from us three years to get final approval to open, because inspectors kept finding new issues they needed to address. Apparently, the inspectors for the fire department were the main problem.
David
October 3, 2024at3:55 pm
These are very fair points — I like your POV here SB. Gotta take accountability for our actions, or lack there of. Definitely feel for everyone involved but we all know the risks, especially before purchasing a home in a flood zone.
SB
October 3, 2024at3:39 pm
If people have been waiting 2 to 3 years for permitting to raise their houses… Assuming that’s true… It’s outrageous. Why on earth do people let the government do things like this?
People and/or politicians should be fired. Assuming it’s true.
But the taxpayers should not be bailing these people out.
Flood insurance claims should be paid promptly and fairly.
And for the people who didn’t get it, it’s on you. We’re all very sorry of course. But you shouldn’t be receiving any bailouts. Not in any way at any level.
Otherwise… everyone else who chose not to live in a flood zone is going to ask taxpayers to pay their gambling debts.
Flood insurance in that area should be very expensive or not even