APOLLO BEACH, Fla — For Anne Hasler and other neighbors in the Caribbean Isles, life is pretty quiet and peaceful. Well, it was until Hurricanes Helene and Milton came and turned their world upside down.
Hasler said Milton caused wind damage, and Helene caused major water damage.
“The water came in,” she said. “Like above my knee.”
As you can imagine, her stress level is through the roof. But she said it’s not just because of the storms or the damage.
“FEMA has caused me more stress than the two storms put together.”
She claims that since Helene, she has spent hours on the phone trying to get information from FEMA and an inspector out to see the damage. She said it’s been a nightmare; however, many of her neighbors have already seen inspectors for both hurricanes.
“When you call them, they say they have no control,” she said. “I did not get assigned an inspector for Milton until the first of November, and I filed on the 12th of October. I didn’t get assigned an inspector for Helene until the 3rd of November. and I had filed on the 29th, so it’s almost six weeks.”
Finally, two inspectors got back to her, and both met with her Tuesday afternoon to examine the damage from Helene and Milton.
“I can finally breathe,” she said. “This is going to be good.”
We contacted FEMA to find out what caused the holdup. We are still waiting to hear back.
This hurricane season has been busy for Florida. According to FEMA’s website, it has approved more than 730,000 applications for assistance in Florida due to hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton. FEMA said it has also given out $2.1 billion to help Floridians with their recovery efforts.
After both inspectors left, Hasler was grinning from ear to ear, she said she was happy that part was over.
According to FEMA, it could take up to 10 days for them to respond to her and answer whether she is eligible for assistance.
If you need FEMA or have questions about applying for assistance, click here
Back-to-back storm events brought record storm surge, rainfall and winds to the Tampa Bay region. The question some are asking now isn’t where people should rebuild, but where we should let nature regain control.
