St. Petersburg residents clean up after intense rainstorms

Residents in St. Petersburg are still recovering from flood damage caused by all the rain we've had this week.

For many, it's a stressful and painful process.

Memories in the form of pictures are now soaked.

"We did like ten bags of baby pictures, I mean, this has been a nightmare. It really has. I'm sorry, I don't know what to do," said Susan Cooney, a resident in St. Pete.

Ruined rugs and debris cover the streets surrounding 58th Street in St. Petersburg.

"It came on suddenly, the street was totally flooded, the bus stop was totally flooded, cars were abandoned, buses had to turn around, there were fire engines on the street," said Gail Cohen, another resident.

On Wednesday, intense rain barreled down in St. Petersburg, causing major flooding.

"It was up like five feet of water and we had a good six inches in our house through the whole house," said Cooney.

"I went into emergency mode and we just started pulling everything off the floor," said Dean Wick, another resident.

Neighbors said the water got so high, it even carried a car downstream and into a nearby canal.

WFTS

Residents said a big issue is that the Bear Creek canal was covered in debris and became clogged, causing the rainwater to overflow.

"They need to have a regular schedule for cleaning stuff up like this, and it may not happen as bad," said Cooney.

The City of St. Pete started cleaning out the canal on Friday and left notes on people's doors, checking in on them.

But residents said more needs to be done, whether that's updating stormwater systems or clearing waterways more often.

"They have to get creative, and however people have to pay for it, it needs to be done!" said Cohen.

The City of St. Pete held a meeting on Thursday, and said storm water maintenance teams are inspecting facilities and making sure they are working properly.

City leaders said an updated stormwater system would cost billions of dollars.

Until that can be done, residents have a question:

"The real question is... is this going to be the new normal and the city can move on that, or is this a fluke, just like a hurricane?" said Wick.

The city is making sandbags available for pickup on Saturday at their pavement and traffic operations building.

In the meantime, Cooney is preparing for the next big storm.

"If it happens tonight, tomorrow, our house is going to be lost totally," said Cooney.

"They need to be aware that they’re putting families at risk”
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