Family in need after flood ruins their home

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - John Mills says his house on Peony Street is no longer safe.

"There's mold growing in the floor from when the water got up to the floorboards.  There's mold growing down the walls from the roof from where it leaked," said Mills.

John lived at the house with his fiance and her family. But Tropical Storm Debby and subsequent rain storms brought loads of water to his New Port Richey neighborhood, just south of SR 52.

The family needed a place to go, but John says he was told by the Red Cross they didn't help renters.

"They'll help somebody in a motel when they are renting a room, they'll get them a place to stay, but they wouldn't help us. And she hung up on me," said Mills.

So John called ABC Action News.  We got in touch with the Red Cross and found out they do help renters or anyone else displaced by flooding.

But once a natural disaster was declared by the federal government, the task of helping them went to the county.

After our phone calls, Pasco County's Community Development quickly got involved. They put the family up in a hotel on US 19. And while it does shelter them for now, their troubles are far from over.

The family got a week in the hotel, but that runs out Friday, and they aren't sure how soon the FEMA aid they are expecting will come through.

"I'm worried because I don't know what to do, if it does run out and we don't have the money to get any more help," said Mills.

The last few weeks have been very tough for Linda Caryl who has heart problems and asthma. She lived in her house for 10 years.

"At least we've got a place to sleep, but what do we do after seven days? When I won't hear from FEMA for 7 to 10 days," said Caryl.

We did find out that the family will not be out on the street at the end of the week.  Pasco County says they work on a case-by-case basis, and will make sure families like John's have a place to stay until they are able to relocate.