Pinellas storm damage estimates now top $2.43 billion

A person would have to spend $100,000 daily for nearly 67 consecutive years to equal an unprecedented hurricane season’s financial toll on the area.

Cathie Perkins, emergency management director for Pinellas County, provided still-preliminary, year-end cost estimates. The total reported damage bill from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton is now $2.434 billion.

However, Commissioner Kathleen Peters expects that number to increase exponentially. She noted that less than half of residents in many of the hardest hit areas, like Madeira Beach and Treasure Island, have received substantial damage assessments.

“The whole process has just been horrible,” Peters told the Catalyst. “How do you judge the damage if they end up selling a house that was valued at $1.5 million for $500,000?”

Damage from Hurricane Helene around Gulf Boulevard in Indian Shores. Photo: Facebook.

Peters, like many constituents, expressed concern with contractors conducting damage assessments from the curb. She worries about residents, particularly seniors, who haven’t upgraded their homes in over a decade and must now sell the property at a substantial loss.

“Does that get included, or is it just the cost to repair,” posited Peters. “And how do you know what the cost of repair is? So, I think the numbers are going to go up.”

Helene, at $2.1 billion, accounts for 86% of the county’s current damage total. The area’s worst storm in a century pushed a six-to-seven-foot wall of water into coastal communities as it passed about 100 miles offshore Sept. 26 as a massive Category 4 hurricane.

Peters was not surprised by the latest cost estimates. She lives on a barrier island and witnessed the towering piles of sand and debris accumulated along roadways.

The governor deployed myriad resources and personnel to assist with recovery efforts in Helene and Milton’s aftermath. Peters wondered if that factored into the latest totals.

Milton’s countywide residential damage estimate is $165.4 million. The Category 3 hurricane brought 102 mph gusts and 18 inches of rain to St. Petersburg as it made landfall near Siesta Key on Oct. 9.

Mayor Ken Welch has stressed the need to dedicate nearly $1 billion to mitigating the impacts of increasingly severe storms. Peters similarly said the damage estimates eschew the cost of hardening infrastructure, like wastewater lines and treatment facilities.

She also noted flooding caused widespread stoplight outages as mechanical equipment sits at ground level. “In both storms – because of the amazing amount of rain we got in Milton – we have to raise every one of those boxes in the air,” Peters said.

“It’s an additional cost as a result of what we learned from the storms,” she continued. “What’s the cost that’s going to come next?”

Debby kicked off a devastating hurricane season in early August. St. Petersburg’s storm impacts included over six inches of rain, 60 mph gusts and a three-to-five-foot storm surge. The relatively mild event caused $3.45 million in residential damage.

Helene and Milton caused $136 million in damage to roughly 1,100 area businesses. Many have yet to reopen, and some will never welcome another customer.

However, that estimate pales in comparison to residential costs. Nearly 41,000 homes sustained storm damage during Helene and Milton.

“There are so many more residential properties than commercial, and we flooded all the way around the Peninsula,” Peters said. “It was a massive coverage of flooding – not only the barrier islands but the mainland, too.”

High winds toppled hundreds of trees onto homes and vehicles in St. Petersburg during Hurricane Milton. Photo by Mark Parker.

Peters is working with state and federal officials to secure much-needed beach renourishment funding. She said the protective sand is more than seven feet below its typical elevation, and those projects will significantly increase the overall damage totals.

Peters expects the 2024 hurricane season’s “true cost” to emerge in another six months once substantial damage assessments and subsequent appeals conclude. She called the process a “huge government overreach” and a burden on residents – outside of the Cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg – who have waited months for rebuilding permits.

The county recorded 14 storm-related fatalities during Helene (12) and Milton (2). “That was the greatest loss in this whole horrible thing,” Peters said.

She spent several years working to establish a new countywide behavioral health program, Care About Me. Commissioners launched the $9 million coordinated access model in May.

The unique initiative aids residents struggling with mental wellness by eliminating an arduous search for help during a crisis. Care About Me provides experienced behavioral health specialists who screen residents and match them directly with local providers.

Peters said now is a “critical time” to promote the free, holistic service. For more information, visit the website here or call 888-431-1998 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays and legal holidays.