Sunday’s storm undoes Hurricane Milton repairs made in Gulfport less than a month ago

Gulfport hit by flooding after weekend storms

FOX 13's Kailey Tracy shares the new issues that were caused after this weekend's storms and how the city of Gulfport is planning to get through the setback.

GULFPORT, Fla. - Sunday night’s storm forced water into Gulfport Beach Bazaar in downtown Gulfport and flooded streets in the city.

As store manager Michael Hooper put it, it wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.

What they're saying:

"Is it tiresome," he said. "Yeah, but you learn every time, you now, after everything we've been through, this was the easiest clean up, and it could have been worse, but you learn every time you go through it and you just make it a little better for the next time," he said.

Five feet of water flooded the store during last year’s hurricanes.

A little closer to Boca Ciega Bay, the beach took a beating Sunday. The storm also caused a flash flood.

"We're currently now in emergency mode," Justin Shea, a spokesperson for Gulfport, said. "We'll do the necessary emergency repairs needed to re-stabilize the beach," he said.

Less than a month ago, crews finished phase one of the beach stabilization project, fixing the mess Hurricane Milton made. The $184,082 project put more than 1,400 tons of sand west of the Casino to address erosion. It didn’t last long, though.

"Unfortunately, with Sunday night's rain event, we did experience erosion, and now we've set back to stabilize the beach once again," Shea said. "This is certainly a step backwards than our moving forward approach."

READ: Manatee County inches closer to removing debris from waterways clogged by the 2024 hurricane season

Shea said they’re planning to make emergency repairs in the next couple of weeks so they can move on with the next phase of the project, which is stabilizing the sidewalk.

"This is a beautiful waterfront area," Shea said. "We know how important it is."

Sunday’s storm also caused a six-inch water main break near O’Maddy’s Bar and Grille. Crews stabilized it Sunday night, and made more repairs Monday morning, so it didn’t end up affecting neighboring businesses.

"That seawall is important for 54th Street and Shore Boulevard. That intersection has been closed since last storm season. With a seawall in place, it helps us essentially provide that barrier buffer between Boca Ciega Bay's wave action and the outfalls doing their job and draining into the bay," Shea said.

"With the rain event on Sunday night, we had some erosion with the waves essentially coming up underneath the road with no seawall in place and that put pressure on that six-inch water line which caused that system to essentially break," he said.

Hurricane Helene damaged the seawall, and the city is still soliciting bids for the reconstruction.

"We're working as fast and as safe as possible. We want to be able to do this right so in the future, this type of damage doesn't occur again," Shea said.

"As a resident, as a business owner, what you can do to prepare for flash flooding events, even with ongoing improvements and with heavy rainfall, stay informed during weather events. Know your risk, have a plan. Know what the surrounding areas of your property flooding, what the water does. Know what routes to and from your property that floods or is prone to flooding. Avoid at all cost driving through the floodwaters," Shea said.

He said the city also has flood hazard information on its website.

City leaders are also working on a watershed management master plan they hope to have done by the end of the year.

The goal is to identify which areas of the city could use drainage improvements and what those improvements look like, and then implement them. Shea said the city’s public works department continues to clean storm drains regularly as well.

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