SARASOTA, Fla. — A family of seven is forced out of their rental home after Tropical Storm Debby flooded it last week.
Eric Hoskins, his wife, Sarah, and their five children rented a home in Sarasota Springs near Phillippi Creek for the past four years.
"We ended up with about 7 inches at the deepest part of our house, but our neighbor, ten feet away, had 13 inches, and just two houses down, they had about 18 inches," said Eric Hoskins.
Hoskins said his family had renter's insurance, but it did not cover the contents of the rental property.
"Probably 6:30 in the morning, my wife woke me up just frantic. She had woken up, reached over, touched the floor, and felt the water rising," he recalled.
Hoskins said his family spent a week in a hotel before a local family offered them a place to stay for a few months.
Friends started a GoFundMe page to help the family replace their belongings.
"We’ve had some really good friends who actually started a GoFundMe for us and several others who just stepped up and see the need and met it in whatever ways they’ve been able. The community around us has been really supportive, really encouraging as I imagine has been happening all across Sarasota in the last week," said Hoskins.
Across the street from the Hoskins family, another couple is trying to rebuild.
Eva Bueno said she had flood insurance, but it does not cover the contents of her home.
She said her husband lost all of his power tools he needed for work. The family started a GoFundMe page to help Eva and her husband.
"The flood insurance is supposed to cover the house, but all the contents are nothing, nothing, all my husband's power tools. He’s a handyman. That’s how he makes his living," she said.
Sarasota County officials said staff was in the neighborhoods on Monday and this past weekend. They're looking at the drainage system near Phillippi Creek and better understand the duration and level of flooding seen during Debby.
"We had staff on site today and through the past weekend looking at the entire drainage system to identify any root causes that we can find to help us understand the level of flooding and duration of flooding along the Phillippi Creek drainage areas," said Public Works Director Spencer Anderson.
"You drive down the street, and basically, you see the contents of everyone’s homes just lining the street because it’s all been ruined," said Hoskins.
Hoskins said his family is grateful for the community's help.
"I would say it’s taught our family a lot about the things that really matter. Nothing that we lost is irreplaceable, and so watching my daughters sort of walk through this first real season of loss for themselves, they’ve really held on to the things that mattered, their faith in our family," he said.
"You're going to see a big improvement to traffic flow in this area,"
Nearly $865 million later and the new Howard Frankland bridge is entering its final phase of construction.
