HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County is working to prep flood-prone areas ahead of Tropical Storm Helene.
“We have crews like this at locations throughout the county right now ahead of the storm that are looking to clear stormwater drainage inlets and structures and also clear stormwater ditches," Hillsborough County's Director of Engineering and Operations Josh Bellotti told ABC Action News.
Bellotti said while it's all hands on deck now, preparation is also done months in advance.
“These efforts are critically important and actually they take place throughout the year, we’ve had crews over the last several months, even ahead of the hurricane season, preparing and clearing ditches," he said.
In Citrus Park, where ABC Action News met Bellotti off Sheldon Road on South Meadowview Circle, he said the water has nowhere to go.
“This is an area that we need the ditches and the pipes here to be clear, to be able to move water out of the area to try to prevent the roadway improperly flooding," Bellotti said.
Regla Camejo, who has lived on South Meadowview Circle for two years, experienced severe flooding during Debby.
"I’ve never seen nothing like that. I’ve never seen so much flooding like that, ever," Camejo said. “We couldn’t move the car for at least 3-4 days until they came and drained the streets."
Hillsborough County told ABC Action News crews will be working overtime and will be on standby before and after the storm, to make sure the pumps placed strategically around the county to help move stormwater are properly functioning.
“I’m actually very happy that they’re emptying the things, because it’s needed. So they’ve been working. I’ve been seeing them for hours this morning," Camejo said of Hillsborough County workers clearing the storm drains.
“We’ll have crews that are out monitoring water levels at lakes and streams throughout the county, so this work is going to continue and it’s all in an effort to try to protect the community," Bellotti said.
ABC Action News meteorologist Denis Phillips provides an update on Tropical Storm Helene and its expected impact on the Tampa Bay area.
