TAMPA, Fla. — Many storm survivors still have a long road ahead as they rebuild and recover from Hurricanes Milton exactly one week ago and Helene.
At one apartment by the university area, organizers and faith leaders held an "emergency press conference" after they said they saw conditions affected tenants still have to deal with.
"I sleep in my car," resident Yee McFadden said. "I've been doing that ever since the hurricane."
The Cinnamon Cove Apartments on North 15th Street isn't even in a high-risk designated flood zone, but like other areas in Hillsborough County, heavy rain led to at least waist-deep level of flooding.
Roads became rivers leading to high-water rescues in parts of the area.
Tenants who spoke on and off-camera said they're already living on low income, and said more help and housing are much needed.
Some tenants said they're seeking refuge in areas like the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which is running as a state-designated shelter. The center has reportedly provided safety and refuge for more than 1,000 displaced people as of Monday.
Meanwhile, other tenants like Ana Cecilia Coombs Rivero said she has a disability and is asthmatic. Her unit, like others on the first floor, is just unfit to live in after being flooded.
Speaking through a translator, Rivero said she plans to leave and wants to speak up for other tenants who are afraid to do so.
The meeting was held by the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Tampa Bay, along with other faith leaders.
Member Ruth Beltran and other pastors who've been attempting to help affected tenants said they had noticed some tenants outside their damaged units.
They're hoping for resources to help relocate affected tenants, along with more help including food and supplies after they said the storm damaged appliances.
"Deplorable. Horrific and inhumane," Pastor Delossa Harris of End Time Ministries said.
Speaking alongside her was Pastor Michelle Kelly of Truth Outreach Global Ministries.
"My heart was broken. My heart hit to the ground," Kelly said of the conditions she saw.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the apartment but is still waiting to hear back.