Nancy de la Cruz has lived in Tampa's University Area neighborhood for about a year and a half.
It's behind Fowler Avenue, which suffered devastating flooding after Hurricane Milton in October.
"Look how high the water got," de la Cruz said in Spanish, pointing to a thick, gray water line that’s knee-high surrounding her one-story house.
"I couldn't enter the house,” she said, because was standing water for five days.
A stormwater pond is just steps away from her home, and De la Cruz said it usually helps prevent flooding.
"This time it couldn't help because the water came from every direction," she said.
De la Cruz's neighbors, who have lived in the University Area for over 30 years, told her they had never seen flooding like this.
Although her son is helping her to fix the damage, De la Cruz said she’s lost almost everything and has trouble sleeping.
“I'm sick to my stomach from stress. There isn't a day I don't cry," she said.
Nancy de la Cruz is one of many across the region who became a recent victim of flooding in unexpected areas.
South Tampa
About 12 miles south from De la Cruz’s house is Harry Coleman’s two-story Parkland Estates home in South Tampa that’s also uninhabitable after Milton. He, his wife and two kids have lived there for eight years.
"It's really hard to prepare for a 300-year storm, and one of the strongest hurricanes, because none of our stormwater systems are designed for that kind of an event."Vik Bhide
He said there was flooding all summer long in his neighborhood, before the biggest event: Milton.
“Our entire house looked like it had just been ransacked by the flood waters, Coleman said. "Fridges were turned over, furniture was everywhere, our possessions were everywhere, and everything was soaked.”
Their bottom floor is ripped out to the studs and the family is living in temporary housing as they await renovations.
“I'm not sure … is this like climate change, and this is just the kind of the new normal and we need to kind of adapt and move up to that? Or is this something that was like a maintenance issue that kind of hadn't been addressed? Or is it an infrastructure issue and that we've allowed so much building to kind of occur?” asked Coleman.
PHOTOS: Hurricane Milton's devastation across the Tampa Bay area
He and his wife have been active public speakers at Tampa City Council meetings to try and get some answers and find solutions.
A “100-year rain event”
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties had anywhere from 10 to 18 inches of rainfall.
Homes, cars and streets were flooded with rainwater for days, even weeks, after Hurricane Milton pummeled the region in October.
The rainfall overwhelmed stormwater systems.
Local water managers from across the region described the Category 3 storm as “a 100-year rain event," or "a 300-year storm," and even “a 500-year storm."
Human-induced global warming contributed to the increased rainfall. It means flooding is not just a coastal problem for Floridians ... it's an everywhere problem.
Florida's climatologist, David Zierden, says the amount of rain from tropical cyclones, tropical storms and hurricanes is increasing and will continue to increase.
"The theory is fairly simple: a warmer, moister atmosphere — also more fuel from warmer sea surface temperatures — provides more moisture for the storm to drop in these heavy rainfall events," said Zierden.
This is a climate issue ... but it's also an infrastructure issue.
Stormwater infrastructure problems
"It's really hard to prepare for a 300-year storm, and one of the strongest hurricanes, because none of our stormwater systems are designed for that kind of an event," said Vik Bhide, with the city of Tampa.
He said what happened to the University Area neighborhood and others, like Forest Hills, was that some of the pump stations didn't have generators. So, when they lost power, water was not being pumped out.
But he said even with working pumps, the systems aren't designed to withstand storms like Milton.
"There's not enough resources to design for Category 3, 4, 5 storms that just sit on us and dump, you know, 12 to 16 inches of rain," Bhide said.
Water managers all across the region had similar things to say about their stormwater infrastructure.
Hillsborough County received 10-15 inches of rain in six hours, totaling 155 billion gallons, which is nearly a third of Tampa Bay's volume. The Hillsborough River reached a record high, surpassing the previous record set during Irma.
"The theory is fairly simple: a warmer, moister atmosphere — also more fuel from warmer sea surface temperatures — provides more moisture for the storm to drop in these heavy rainfall events."David Zierden
Josh Bellotti, with Hillsborough Public Works. said most of the state — including the county — designs its infrastructure to meet a base level of like a 25-year event.
“With Milton, it was over a 200-year event … so, far beyond any of the standards that are built infrastructure is designed to withstand,” Bellotti said.
“If this is bringing up some questions, I think that that we're going to need to address as a community and really regionally, because of … that regional impact of all of these watersheds and surrounding counties.”
For Pinellas County, a big challenge was that its water storage areas were already full from previous rain events before Milton had even arrived.
“We had already exceeded our average annual rainfall total by that time. So, when you're already saturated, there is nowhere for the water to go. And then you get somewhere between … on the low end, maybe 13 inches, but we know in St Pete it was upwards of 18 or more,” said Kelli Hammer Levy, with Pinellas Public Works.
Pasco County experienced anywhere between 11 and 18 inches, with Dade City hit hardest by rainfall.
“This was unprecedented flooding that we saw this time around. We got water in areas that residents that have lived here for decades have never flooded,” said Andrew Fossa, Pasco’s emergency management director.
Milton impacted the northwestern part of Polk County. Jay Jarvis, Polk’s roads and drainage director, said the areas that flooded were areas that had previously, although a little worse this time.
“A drainage system is not designed to handle extreme events, lots of rain very quick. They're going to to handle more of the normal day-to-day events and type things,” Jarvis said.
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“Even when we do come in, spend money to try to improve the drain system, Mother Nature has her own methods. And we don't know what she's going to do. So … she may come in and dump so much water … and all we're trying to do is allow that water a way to get out once it comes.”
For Sarasota, Hurricane Debby sweeping through as a tropical storm in August was the worst recent flooding with upwards of 18 inches of rain in some areas.
“That exceeded our design. Our stormwater system is designed to handle 10 inches of rain in a day, so 24 hours. And Debby specifically exceeded that at least by 20%,” said Spencer Anderson, Sarasota public works director.
Stormwater infrastructure solutions
As the climate changes and these storms become more common, can officials continue to call them 100-year storms, 200-year storms, 300-year storms, or 500-year storms?
Although they lack resources, water managers are looking for solutions.
Taryn Sabia, an urban and community designer focusing on resilience with the University of South Florida, has done some research on what's called "blue-green urbanism."
"So, looking at how we can create more natural stormwater systems, ways of moving water through and to that isn't just about piping and pumping," said Sabia.
Like floodable parks, for example.
But Sabia said Florida also has a lot of stormwater ponds, so she suggests reviewing if they function under these new rainfall conditions.
Some residents and advocates say new construction around older neighborhoods, like Progress Village in Tampa, has increased flooding.
Sabia suggests taking new development into areas that are not as built out, preferably on higher ground.
"There are, I think, a number of areas like that that we can look to in terms of providing both new development as well as areas that are safe for refuge, so that people don't have to go as far to evacuate or find safety,” Sabia said.
Hillsborough County is investigating the impacts recent storms had on its water systems in the county and cities within it.
They are mapping, analyzing data and getting public input. The first phase is expected to be completed by June.
