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St. Petersburg estimates $75M in damages to public infrastructure from Hurricane Milton

Tropicana Field accounts for just under $50M of the estimated $75M in damages.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The city of St. Petersburg estimates Hurricane Milton caused roughly $75 million in damages to its public infrastructure.

It has been several long weeks of clean-up and recovery following back-to-back storms unlike anything the city has seen before. 

Hurricane Helene brought a record-breaking storm surge, and Hurricane Milton brought record-breaking wind and rainfall. 

St. Pete Fire Rescue Emergency Management Specialist Amber Boulding said, "It really was the one-two-punch that together provided a worst-case scenario for St. Petersburg." 

Boulding said Milton dropped more than 20 inches of rain in six hours in some areas of St. Petersburg. That is three times the previous record, set in 2001. Milton also brought about 101 mph gusts, causing widespread damage. 

Of the estimated $75 million in damages to public infrastructure, roughly $50 million was centralized at Tropicana Field where high winds tore off the roof, allowing water to pour inside.

At Thursday's meeting, city council approved $6.5 million to be used to help clean up Tropicana Field and mitigate further damage while the roof is off, including waterproofing some areas. 

James Corbit, St. Pete city development administrator, said, "There was significant water intrusion in the field, the seating bowl, and office areas. The city hired a contractor to remove the roof material and we've been soliciting proposals for remediation work." 

Beyond tearing off the roof of Tropicana Field, Hurricane Milton also notably blew over a crane from the construction site of 400 Central, which then fell on the Tampa Bay Times building. 

Corbit said they've been working with 400 Central to have the area cleared and repaired. 

"The crane has been removed from the Times building, we're working on removing the crane in the street, and then we will make repairs to the road," Corbit said.

City leaders said storm damage assessment is ongoing. 

Amber Boulding said, "Immediate recovery will begin to overlap with long-term recovery and right now we're somewhere in the middle of all of those."

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