The financial toll from the unprecedented hurricane season in the area is staggering, equivalent to spending $100,000 daily for nearly 67 consecutive years.

Cathie Perkins, emergency management director for Pinellas County, provided preliminary year-end cost estimates, reporting a total damage bill of $2.434 billion from Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton. However, Commissioner Kathleen Peters expects that number to increase significantly. She noted that less than half of residents in some of the hardest-hit areas, like Madeira Beach and Treasure Island, have received substantial damage assessments.

“The whole process has just been horrible,” Peters told the St. Pete Catalyst. “How do you judge the damage if they end up selling a house that was valued at $1.5 million for $500,000?”

Peters and many constituents are concerned about contractors conducting damage assessments from the curb. She worries about residents, particularly seniors, who haven’t upgraded their homes in over a decade and must now sell their properties at a significant loss.

“Does that get included, or is it just the cost to repair,” Peters questioned. “And how do you know what the cost of repair is? So, I think the numbers are going to go up.”

Hurricane Helene accounts for 86% of the county’s current damage total at $2.1 billion. The area’s worst storm in a century, Helene pushed a six-to-seven-foot wall of water into coastal communities as it passed about 100 miles offshore on September 26 as a massive Category 4 hurricane.

Peters, who lives on a barrier island, was not surprised by the latest cost estimates, having witnessed the towering piles of sand and debris along roadways.

Governor DeSantis deployed resources and personnel to assist with recovery efforts in the aftermath of Helene and Milton. Peters wondered if this factored into the latest totals.

Milton’s countywide residential damage estimate stands at $165.4 million. The Category 3 hurricane brought 102 mph gusts and 18 inches of rain to St. Petersburg when it made landfall near Siesta Key on October 9.

Mayor Ken Welch has emphasized the need to allocate nearly $1 billion to mitigate the impacts of increasingly severe storms. Peters noted that the damage estimates do not include the cost of hardening infrastructure, such as wastewater lines and treatment facilities.

She also highlighted widespread stoplight outages caused by flooding, as mechanical equipment sits at ground level. “In both storms—because of the amazing amount of rain we got in Milton—we have to raise every one of those boxes in the air,” Peters said.

“It’s an additional cost as a result of what we learned from the storms,” she continued. “What’s the cost that’s going to come next?”

Hurricane Debby kicked off a devastating hurricane season in early August. St. Petersburg experienced over six inches of rain, 60 mph gusts, and a three-to-five-foot storm surge. The relatively mild event caused $3.45 million in residential damage.

Helene and Milton caused $136 million in damage to roughly 1,100 area businesses. Many have yet to reopen, and some may never welcome another customer.

However, that estimate pales in comparison to residential costs. Nearly 41,000 homes sustained storm damage during Helene and Milton.

“There are so many more residential properties than commercial, and we flooded all the way around the Peninsula,” Peters said. “It was a massive coverage of flooding—not only the barrier islands but the mainland, too.”

Peters is working with state and federal officials to secure much-needed beach renourishment funding. She said the protective sand is more than seven feet below its typical elevation, and those projects will significantly increase the overall damage totals.

Peters expects the “true cost” of the 2024 hurricane season to emerge in another six months once substantial damage assessments and subsequent appeals conclude. She called the process a “huge government overreach” and a burden on residents—outside of the Cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg—who have waited months for rebuilding permits.

The county recorded 14 storm-related fatalities during Helene (12) and Milton (2). “That was the greatest loss in this whole horrible thing,” Peters said.

Peters has spent several years working to establish a new countywide behavioral health program, Care About Me. Commissioners launched the $9 million coordinated access model in May.

The unique initiative aids residents struggling with mental wellness by eliminating the arduous search for help during a crisis. Care About Me provides experienced behavioral health specialists who screen residents and match them directly with local providers.

Peters said now is a “critical time” to promote the free, holistic service. For more information, visit the website here or call 888-431-1998 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays and legal holidays.

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