TAMPA, Fla. — Dozens of people packed a meeting in North Tampa calling for action and help two weeks after Hurricane Milton made landfall.
A community meeting was held as an opportunity for storm survivors to ask questions and also make use of resources available. City leaders, along with representatives from FEMA, were present.
Numerous spots in North Tampa were not high-risk flood zones but went underwater leading to homes now unlivable.
Belinda Trask of Forest Hills was among those who attended. She said she wanted to learn more about what led to flooding in her neighborhood even though it's not in a high-risk designated flood zone.
"Why did it flood in this area?" Trask said. " I thought this was the safe space?"
A number of people who live in the affected areas did not have flood insurance believing their zone was out of harm's way.
Those like Disney Quevedo also attended and hoped to make use of the resources available at the meeting including from FEMA after flooding wiped out her apartment around East Fowler Avenue.
Quevedo said despite losing her belongings, she's glad she evacuated and is alive.
"If I stayed, maybe something would have happened to me," she said.
Mayor Jane Castor is asking for more generators after flooding in the Forest Hills neighborhood.
A spokesperson for the city of Tampa wrote there are three pump stations in Forest Hills. However, only the Curiosity Creek pump station had a backup generator. The transfer switch failed as a result of Milton knocking out power.
"We had historic, historic storms in our system, and in our city and the entire region," Castor said. "These were hurricanes that brought an incredible amount of water that no stormwater system can deal with."
Councilman Luis Viera called for an outside investigation to find what worked and what didn't from the recent storms in areas affected. Viera said it's not about pointing fingers but finding ways to ensure the city is able to help mitigate flooding.
"If I was in a non-flood zone and I lost everything during the storm, I would have those same questions and I would want my government to answer them for me. That is about transparent government," Viera said.
For now, storm survivors like Trask wonder if her neighborhood will flood again without proper action.
"I just want to know, who's going to fix this? Or do we have to move because now this is considered a flood zone." she said.
City council is slated to discuss its outside investigation during its Nov. 7 meeting.
More community meetings to discuss recent flooding is expected to be held in Tampa at a venue and a date yet to be determined.