ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Meghan Martin’s home is no stranger to flooding.
“It’s been twice now in three years,” said Martin.
She’s lived in Shore Acres for eight years, and ABC Action News has caught up with her time and again.
Flooding isn’t the only problem though.
“Our rates unfortunately for our flood insurance have more than tripled in the last couple of years just because of the issues with the neighborhood and the flooding that we’ve experienced, and also just our homeowner’s insurance has gone up significantly as well,” said Martin.
On Saturday, Martin went from resident to a seat at a roundtable in St. Pete alongside Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL 14), and other leaders.
On the agenda was a discussion about climate change and its impact on rising insurance costs.
“We are paying more for our property insurance here in the state of Florida than any other state,” said Castor.
“This is coming to all coastal areas of the United States, so understanding what’s going on in Florida is really important to us,” said Whitehouse.
Officials said the Senate Budget Committee held hearings on how climate change is affecting insurance and property markets, particularly in the Sunshine State, and what it means for the federal budget.
“I think the most important thing that people should be demanding is that government is supporting the changes that are already coming, addressing those, so that new infrastructure, the improved drainage, all of those things, but you can’t drain your way out of this problem if it continues to get worse,” said Whitehouse.
At the heart of it all is the human impact, with neighbors like Martin just trying to weather the storm.
“The way that the predictions for what we’re going to see with rising tides, increased storms, just increased rainstorms in general, we’re looking at problems down the road if we don’t do any interventions,” said Martin.
