Flooding in Pasco and Polk counties
For many Floridians, getting ready for hurricane season means things like dusting off the emergency kit, checking flashlight batteries and making sure you know where important documents are stashed.
But some Tampa Bay residents who lived through the 2024 hurricane season are still dealing with flooding from Hurricane Milton and worried about what the 2025 season may bring.
WUSF’s Sky Lebron visited residents in Polk and Pasco counties. Some of their homes are still flooded from the storm. For others, while the flooding has receded, they’ve had to rip up their floors and tear down their walls, leaving a frame of the place they called home. Many have lost everything they’ve worked for.
Richard Beckwith described how his Zephyrhills home is not even on its foundation correctly because of the water.
“It's a little emotionally rough. I mean, when you come back to it and actually see the devastation and what the water is capable of doing,” Beckwith said.
Lebron described how residents say they feel no one is listening or cares about their situations.
Lebron said seeing people trying to live with flooded homes was really tough.
“I mean, we're talking about houses that are now, what, five, six months down the line from the hurricane, and there's still hurricane water and septic water surrounding their homes,” he stated.
For Beckwith’s neighbor, Don Ferguson, the water was completely surrounding his property. It’s just now beginning to recede.
“He would put wood planks down so that we could get to his front door, and he showed me the inside, and you could see the water line,” Lebron said. “It's not like it was down near the bottom. It was near the midway point of the house. So, his couch, his TV, his washer and dryer, all of it, completely devastated.”
Lebron said the residents have had a challenging time trying to get help. When he spoke to Pasco County officials, they told him their hands are tied when it comes to using public funding.
"Those men live on private property on a private road. So, they can't just say, ‘Hey, here's $10,000, here's some trucks that we paid for to bring out,’ ” Lebron explained. “Because every time you use public money, that has to be public, you have to showcase that it's for the public good.”
Lebron said the county kept telling him was if a resident could also give a reason as to why this was going to help the public, then they could send those trucks out there and get the water pumped out. For example, if unflooding that area is going to help an area that is public become more accessible for emergency services, police services, even for traffic, then they’ll do it.
“But, if it's only going to help private residents and private property on private roads, they really can't do much,” he said.
Hear more on Lebron’s reporting on the media player above. You can check out Lebron’s stories on the residents here.
Restoring Fantasy Island
Oyster beds can help protect shorelines from the impact of powerful storms and waves. Volunteers have been busy building up natural seawalls made from oyster shells on one of the spoil islands in the middle of Hillsborough Bay. They're helping restore part of one of the most important rookeries in the state.
WUSF’s Steve Newborn reports on how restoring Fantasy Island helps protect the thousands of bird species that live there.
He says Fantasy Island is a “spoil island.” Spoil islands were created in the 1970s as a way to make use of the soil from deep water channels that were dredged up to create the Port Tampa Bay.
Fantasy Island has become home to thousands of wading and fish-eating birds, like the white ibis, little blue herons and reddish egrets. After being spooked on the nearby Alafia Banks Sanctuary, one of the biggest bird rookeries in the state, a lot of birds migrated to Fantasy Island and have called it home since.
Newborn said the restoration of Fantasy Island began in 2016. Volunteers collect oyster shells in shell bags that will be placed along the shorelines near the port. The shells are a crucial part of creating and maintaining mangroves and other plants. They stabilize the shoreline by taking the brunt of waves created by ships coming into the port, and they create a foundation for the plants to attach to for growth. They also work to filter the water, improving the water quality of the bay.
“It's a symbiotic relationship. If you go to any of the mangrove islands out there, you will see oyster shells growing on the roots that are in the water,” Newborn said. “It's kind of like a dock, you know, you see all the barnacles and everything down there. It's definitely a symbiotic relationship. The oysters help the mangroves, and the mangroves help the oysters, and hopefully, we can help them both.”
Newborn said this is the second phase of the restoration. In total, it costs about $200,000 and is funded by Coastal Conservation Association Florida, Duke Energy and Neptune Flood insurance company of St. Petersburg.
Volunteers bear the cold, salty water to shovel oyster shells into the water on the southern end of the island, facing the shipping channel. After this is complete, the planting of salt marsh grass begins to continue building the filtration system and further the restoration process.
Hear Newborn's story in the media player above.
