Damaged business signs remain along US 19 in Palm Harbor, Florida, October 30, 2024
While legislation in the wake of disasters always commands attention, we can’t forget the human cost in the meantime. Many individuals affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton are still waiting for their happy ending, and for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, that means thousands of businesses and homeowners with lives left stranded. Florida’s West Coast undoubtedly saw the brunt of the damage, with around 2,300 people out of work temporarily in those two counties and 700 more who permanently lost their jobs. Countless others elsewhere in Florida lost their livelihoods in the retail and food industries. More than half of Florida businesses’ self-reported $350 million in damages was from these two counties alone. As far as insured losses, 135,505 Helene claims had been filed as of last week worth just under $2 billion, with another 300,662 claims from Milton worth $3.2 billion. As we’ve reported, there are thousands of claims for flood damage that are not covered.
The interior of a Milton Shore Acres home in Pinellas County drying out after nearly three feet of flood inundation from Hurricane Milton, October 17, 2024
Communities down Florida’s West Coast and miles inland are still reeling from historic flooding and storm surge, ranging from inches to feet of standing water. Storefronts and homes across the Tampa Bay area were weakened and destroyed from water damage, with debris and trash stacked six feet high all along the side of the road just to clear a path. Entrepreneurs like Davis and Tamika Vaught, who have served up soul food in the area for three years from their store Blue Flame Tampa, told the Tampa Bay Times last Monday that have been without power since the storm, their building further compromised with holes in the roof and collapsed walls. Now they wait for a permit to begin demolition work, which means more bills to pay. “I don’t even want to look at it right now,” Davis Vaught said. “I don’t know what my future holds.” In spite of it all, businessowners like the Vaught’s manage to find the strength to move forward and build-up their communities once again.
Musicians performing in front of one of the few open restaurants in Gulfport, Florida on November 1, 2024
Even under these most tremendous of circumstances, some restaurants like O’Maddy’s Bar and Grille in Gulfport have scraped together every last penny to be a beacon for their community in times of trouble. With exposed walls and scaffolding still up, they scrambled to get their doors open to serve hungry customers and begin the long road back to business as usual. But sadly, that road to recovery isn’t always a straight shot – take it from John Novikoff Jr, whose store, Computer Lab in inland Zephyrhills, had 8 inches of standing water for weeks after Helene. Novikoff threw out thousands of dollars in equipment and spent weeks cleaning and pumping out stormwater just to get the doors back open, but business has been very slow. “It’s like starting the business over again,” Novikoff said. “It reminds me of when I was first here in 2003, just looking out the window,” he told the Times. For many Floridians the future means starting over, finding comfort in a sense of community, and not counting the steps on the long path ahead.
See you on the trail,
Lisa
LMA Newsletter of 11-25-24
