PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The City of Largo is meeting to address flood concerns in the area!
Homeowners near McKay Creek believe infrastructure issues caused their homes to flood during Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
"It's devastation…you know, you work hard your whole life to own a house, have nice things, and I had to drive by and watch everybody put everything they've ever worked hard for out on the road," said Felicia Ogilby, who lives next to the creek.
Ogilby said her neighborhood was flooded during Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
"It's frustrating, it's sad, it's overwhelming…just watching everybody lose everything is just tragic…it's tragic and there's nothing we can do!" said Ogilby.
She and many of her neighbors blame the flooding on city infrastructure issues and a lack of maintenance of McKay Creek.
"We are over this creek. It's ruined our lives, it's ruined our houses, it's taken everything from us, and we are over it," said Ogilby.
Shawn Bull is helping his neighbor clean out her home after water got about 18 inches high inside.
"To stand here and imagine water up this high, you almost can't process that. But it's mother nature and that's what it can do very easily…and we definitely want to get ahead of the curve," said Bull.
According to the city, the creek is privately owned by many of the properties on Crescent Drive, but homeowners said they still want other solutions.
"Everybody on this road has lost everything, and they are telling us the creek is your problem.
The City of Largo is holding a series of meetings with residents impacted by McKay Creek, saying city leaders are working on neighborhood-specific solutions.
The city sent ABC Action News a statement, saying, "These meetings are an opportunity for two-way communication. Residents can voice their experiences and priorities while city team members provide updates on hurricane recovery and local and regional resilience efforts…"
Homeowners said they want more done to prevent flooding from McKay Creek in the future.
"These are their homes that they worked for, so they should have complete input and 100% input in everything, and they should be involved and have decision-making abilities," said Bull.
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