TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa homeowners living in Parkland Estates felt the wrath of the past few hurricanes. Now, being in the middle of hurricane season, one man tells ABC Action News he has a lot of questions regarding the phase out of FEMA.
"It's devastating when you lose everything and on the first floor of your house," said David Adams, a Tampa resident. "We lost pictures of our kids, and our parents who've now passed away, and it just really shakes you to the core."
Adams has lived in Tampa for more than 30 years, and in the past decade, he began to feel the worst impacts of flooding. He said even though his house is about 18 feet above sea level, the water rises in his area because he is in a divot where the storm water doesn’t recede fast enough.
"Last year, we had 10 storms that flooded our neighborhood before the two hurricanes," said Adams. "And then with Milton, that was really bad, because I had 33 inches outside of my house and about 10.5 inches inside."
WATCH NOW: 'We lost everything’: Tampa residents fear future without FEMA after devastating storms
He said he had to gut the entire first floor – repairing the kitchen, living room and all the furniture. After nearly eight months, he was able to do just that with help from FEMA.
"The thing that I relied on was the flood insurance," said Adams. "I've purchased flood insurance ever since my house flooded in 2015. I knew there was a risk and, they provided most of the money that we used to repair our house. And that's, you know, provided under FEMA."
According to FEMA, there are about 4.7 million policyholders utilizing the National Flood Insurance Program. It’s one of the nation’s largest insurance programs, providing nearly $1.3 trillion in coverage against floods.
And Adams is among those policyholders.
"People need help after these disasters, and somebody needs to come in and help with that," said Adams. "And FEMA has a system in place where they have been doing that for many years and it seems to me you're going to lose a lot of momentum if you dismantle that system."
Adams is worried about what the removal of FEMA could mean for his flood insurance.
Not only does FEMA provide insurance, but it also provides individual assistance.
As of June 9th, FEMA's data is showing it has approved more than $1.6 billion to help Floridians with losses from Milton, Helene and Debby.
Governor Ron DeSantis said phasing out FEMA won’t remove the funding, just the red tape. He said it would be easier to administer the money this way, while also providing a faster response.
"To try to micromanage everything, it just paralyzes the response," said DeSantis. "If you just calculated typical hurricane, how much, and you gave us 80-cents on the dollar on that but cut out the bureaucracy, I’ll bet you that money would actually go further."
But Florida State Representative Fentrice Driskell disagrees. She said not having federal resources would delay storm debris removal, and the lack of funding would devastate neighborhoods.
"You may see the state on the ground, but you certainly see FEMA on the ground, and people need these resources," said Driskell. "Floridians have come to look to FEMA for help anytime we're facing a devastating storm season and so, you know, it makes me very nervous that it seems like the state has taken its eye off the ball."
President Trump said after hurricane season, the government plans to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
"If a certain state, as an example, gets hit by a hurricane or a tornado, that's what a governor, you know, a governor should be able to handle it," said President Trump. "And frankly if they can't handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn't be governor."
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said a FEMA council will be set up. They will work on reforms and what FEMA will look like in the future as a different agency under the Department of Homeland Security.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor was one of the people chosen in April to be part of the FEMA review council.
Pasco County woman trying to rebuild mobile home after hurricanes
"I cried, of course, because I've worked very hard getting it nice, which has been difficult for me since I lost my husband and being alone,” Kelly Welty said.
Welty's mobile home lost its roof during Hurricane Milton. She said it was the only one in the Buena Vista community to get totaled by a tornado.
