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Resiliency ahead of hurricane season
The city of St. Petersburg held the first in a series of public meetings focused on flood risk and long-term resilience planning, asking residents to weigh in on how the city should prepare for sea-level rise, storm surge, tidal flooding and heavy rainfall in the decades ahead. FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hurricane season is just 12 days away and some Shore Acres residents say they are entering another storm season while still recovering from the 2024 season.
"There’s a tremendous amount of people who are still in harm’s way, and we need to fix that," Barry Rubin, vice president of the Shore Acres Civic Association, said during a city-hosted resilience meeting Tuesday night.
Flood resilience planning meetings
The backstory:
The city of St. Petersburg held the first in a series of public meetings focused on flood risk and long-term resilience planning, asking residents to weigh in on how the city should prepare for sea-level rise, storm surge, tidal flooding and heavy rainfall in the decades ahead.
Shore Acres families still rebuilding
Why you should care:
The meeting comes as many families in Shore Acres, one of the city’s most flood-prone neighborhoods, are still rebuilding from the devastating 2024 hurricane season.
"Here we are in May of 2026 and probably 30% to 40% of the homes in Shore Acres still have not been touched," Shore Acres resident Kevin Batdorf said.
Two years after hurricanes brought catastrophic flooding to parts of Shore Acres, some homes are still under repair, being elevated or remain unoccupied.
Residents say that reality makes the start of another hurricane season especially nerve-racking.
Rubin said many families remain vulnerable if another storm were to hit before recovery work is complete.
Long-term flood vulnerability plans
What they're saying:
Tuesday night’s meeting gave residents a first look at a citywide vulnerability assessment examining how climate-related flooding could impact critical city-owned infrastructure in the years ahead.
City leaders say this is the beginning of a public planning process expected to continue over the next year and a half.
St. Pete City Council member Mike Harting said the meeting is a chance for residents to be heard and for them to give feedback to help shape decisions going forward.
Harting said the city is trying to think ahead as flooding threats become more severe.
"The city is thinking about this and planning for the fact that different things are coming," Harting said.
New flood mitigation projects
Among the projects already underway in Shore Acres: a new pump station and other flood mitigation investments aimed at reducing flooding and improving infrastructure resilience.
Rubin said those projects are important.
"That's a great thing, which means we should not have to cease flushing toilets and running water in a next weather event," Rubin said.
What's next:
Residents say they appreciate the city starting these conversations in Shore Acres, where flooding has become a defining issue.
But with hurricane season fast approaching, many say the urgency feels immediate — especially for neighbors still living in temporary housing or working to rebuild homes damaged nearly two years ago.
"There’s no short solution to this," Rubin said. "They’re looking at 30, 40, 50-year solutions, and that’s unacceptable. We need a solution today."
For now, residents say they are hopeful the city’s long-term planning will eventually bring solutions.
The Source: This story was gathered from interviews with Shore Acres residents and civic leaders, including Barry Rubin, vice president of the Shore Acres Civic Association, an interview with Mike Harting, St. Petersburg City Council member, as well as information from the city of St. Petersburg public meeting on flood vulnerability assessment and community resilience planning in Shore Acres.