TAMPA, Fla. — Homeowners living in Parkland Estates are urging city leaders to act to prevent flooding in the future.
David Adams spoke before the Tampa City Council on Thursday and many of his neighbors joined him at the meeting.
Hurricane Milton flooded his home and destroyed his possessions.
"I got 33 inches of water in my garage and about 11.5 inches of water in my house," said Adams.
He estimates about 30 homes around him also have water damage inside.
Steve and Pria Gerrish live across the street. They watched as water during Hurricane Milton flooded the first level of their home.
"Me and my children were in the house braced on the floor with towels just watching it rise and rise and it's a very horrible feeling to have the front and back of your house breached with water. At one point, I just said okay. I can't watch it flood and we went upstairs and we hunkered down and waited. We came down in the morning to an absolute mess," said Pria.
Adams said his garage first flooded in 2015. He said his neighborhood has flooded numerous times in the past.
He created a website, Stop Flooding in Parkland Estates. He is urging neighbors to support a project to help stop the flooding.
The South Howard Flood Relief Project involves designing and building a major stormwater conveyance system to improve drainage and reduce flooding along South Howard Avenue and the adjacent neighborhoods, including Parkland Estates.
A City of Tampa spokesperson said the project was paused after concerns from businesses about construction. The Tampa City Council is expected to discuss the project on November 7.
"I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I think the city does need to be held accountable. Many of us...all of us are in flood zone X and evacuation zone C," said Pria.
Neighbors are in the process of cleaning up. Their possessions sit on the curb. They worry another storm may destroy it again.
"The fear of doing all this and putting it all back together and having it flood next hurricane season or even in rain storms we have flooding. It's just really uneasy and it's emotionally challenge," said Adams.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
