LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — This week marks six months since Hurricane Idalia ravaged parts of our area inundating homes with water and leaving homeowners struggling to put their lives back together.
We first met Karen Lucchese a few weeks ago when she and dozens of flood victims went to a listening session hosted by St. Petersburg city officials.
"So I don't know what it takes to get assistance but I guess we're not those people, I don't know,” Lucchese said at the time.
Six months ago, she knew Idalia was coming but decided to stay because she had four dogs and didn't know where else to go. Pretty soon the water was up to her knees and she needed neighbors to rescue her, her daughter and their dogs.
“We saw outside a couple of guys in canoes and broke open a screen and asked them if they could help us and they came to our rescue,” she recalls.
That was the last day Lucchese spent at her home in Riviera Bay. The part-time vet technician has been living an hour away in Land O' Lakes at a home she and her husband are renting.
"And that was the biggest blessing and we're still here today,” she says. “And it's been since August."
Flood insurance is paying for her home to be gutted and restored but she now is paying rent along with her mortgage. She says when trying to get renter's assistance from FEMA, she gets the run-around.
"I called up and I talked to this random guy [at FEMA] who was going to help us and he said, ‘oh man when I look at this stuff my brain turns to mush,’” she says. “And I actually giggled because I’m like, ‘if your brain turns to mush, how do you think a homeowner knows what to do here.’”
Lucchese and her husband lived in Tampa for more than two decades before moving to St. Petersburg last year. She knew it was in a flood zone but the home they listed sold in a day, leaving them in a pinch to decide if they should close on their new home. She has this advice for those in a similar situation:
"Do you research because unfortunately there are areas that can be a little tricky with the flooding insurance and home insurance, you just want to understand what you're in for.”
For Lucchese, she says eventually she wants to move back to higher ground in Tampa.