TAMPA, Fla. — They were told they didn't live in a flood zone, but in the north part of Tampa and Hillsborough County, hundreds of people were flooded out by Hurricane Milton.
On Thursday, a week after the storm, dozens packed into Tampa’s city council chamber demanding answers.
In response, some city leaders are now calling for an outside investigation and possibly compensation for those impacted by the flooding.
Keven Sewell is one of many living in the Forest Hills neighborhood. His home took on three feet water despite being located in Flood Zone X.
“We weren't fully prepared for something like this because we were told that we were going to be safe,” said Sewell. “It's not an evacuation zone at all.”
Sewell and others now question why the city's pump stations and protective infrastructure seem to have failed them during Hurricane Milton.
“We want what's right,” he said. “We want… we feel like they are responsible.”
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, who represents several of the affected neighborhoods, is now calling for a joint investigation between Tampa and Hillsborough County.
Angry residents packed the council chamber demanding transparency.
“I want it to be done by experts,” said Viera. “Not politicians. By people who know.”
Viera called for a professional outside investigation into what went wrong.
He also suggested the city and Hillsborough County consider putting money aside to provide not just answers - but financial relief.
“We should appropriate money, significant, robust money, for that. And we should also acknowledge the devastating fact that this is going to have Tampa one of the few places in Tampa for workforce and affordable housing,” said Viera. “It's not to point fingers. I don't know what the answer is. All I know is that there are people who have suffered a lot - who are asking reasonable questions.”
“We want to have our livelihood back. We want our house back. You know, we want our belongings back,” said Sewell. “And so does everybody else in the neighborhood.”
A week earlier, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said pump failures and generator failures were to blame for the flooding in North Tampa.
A spokesperson later questioned whether any infrastructure would have stood up to back-to-back hurricanes.
Some council members also suggested it might be time for the city to revisit its building codes to address challenges created by what they called the new normal of more frequent and intense weather events.