Felix Figueruelo keeps what remains of his parents’ possessions in a pod on their front porch.

“They’re eager to return home,” he told Bay News 9.

It’s been four months since Hurricane Milton flooded their house.

“I promised them, ‘I’ll pick you up in the morning,’” he recalled. “‘You’ve got nothing to worry about.’ I had no idea I was sealing them in for this catastrophe.”

The National Guard stepped in to evacuate his parents.

“This mark shows how high the water rose inside,” Figueruelo said, pointing. “I was 10 when we moved here.”

He notes the flooding caught them off guard since FEMA doesn’t list the area as a flood zone. They’re still grappling with the loss—50 years of family photos and recordings, gone.

“We needed mold cleanup, plus biohazard treatment because sewage flooded in,” he explained.

His parents tapped a home equity loan to rebuild. Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen says $709 million in federal relief funds were pledged for storm recovery.

“But it’s just a pledge,” Cohen cautioned. “It hinges on following federal guidelines and getting reimbursed after plans are greenlit. Speeding it up won’t be easy.”

The county and Tampa hired experts to study flooding from recent consecutive hurricanes.

“The upside,” Cohen added, “is that once the study’s done, we’ll have funds to act on its recommendations.”

With storm season closing in and the study pending, Figueruelo says Pinecrest-Leto residents are anxious.

“They’re asking, ‘If this happens again, then what?’” he said.

They’re counting on a solid plan soon from Hillsborough County or the City of Tampa.

“Optimism’s scarce here,” he admitted. “Some homes on the first street took a brutal hit. People just abandoned them.”

Engineering firm Black and Veatch got $500,000 to probe flooding across county cities, neighboring areas, departments, and stakeholders.

Meetings with affected residents are slated for the coming weeks.

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