Port Tampa neighborhood experiences flooding even after storms
PORT TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Flooding during hurricane season is something Floridians are used to, but in one Port Tampa neighborhood, the flood waters don’t stop when the storm passes, and residents are begging for something to change.
Currently, Juanita Street is dry, but according to neighbors, it can flood up to waist height after any storm.
“It’s a serious problem that we have here,” said Tom Hines, a resident.
“All of a sudden, Juanita Street is just flooded to the top, Ignacio Torano said. “Like I said, it’s isolated, so all the neighboring blocks around us, perfectly fine.”
“I had to carry a bag of emergency stuff we needed on top of my head, because it was about up to my waist in water. It was all the way up to our garage,” Malayna Torano said.
Residents said Juanita Street is not what it used to be.
“We didn’t have this problem when this community wasn’t here and once this community came, they put a street where there was a creek, we started to have this problem. I think if people understood that, or lived here, they would be equally as upset as we are,” Ignacio Torano said.
When there is severe rain, these residents are getting their rain boots on, preparing for the worst.
“You can’t drive the street, because the water just covers the street up. We had several hundred dollars’ worth of damages,” Hines said.
“It’s hours of prepping, it’s hours of thinking about what am I going to do,” Ignacio Torano said. “What’s important to me, do I leave, do I stay and then even after the aftermath of it, it’s probably 10 times the amount of hours, because you’re cleaning up.”
“Awful to say the least,” Malayna Torano said. “We ended up having to have our friend that has a four-wheel drive and diesel engine come pick us up, literally to take us only a block away.”
All the residents 8 On Your Side spoke with said they have reached out to the City of Tampa, city officials and Lennar developers.
“We can’t seem to get anyone to come out and make a difference in the issues that we’re facing. The city blames the developer and the developer points at the city,” Hines said.
“It’s like they don’t want to hear the actual problem, they don’t want to listen,” Ignacio Torano said. “They just want to deal with the quick problem, give a solution, stamp it off and go onto the next thing.”
City officials told 8 On Your Side they are listening to the concerns of the residents and are looking into them. Lennar’s media team said they’re reaching out to the local team about the situation.
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