Lindsay Cross requests temporary housing for displaced Helene victims

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Rep. Lindsay Cross is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deploy Direct Temporary Housing for residents who have been displaced by damage and/or flooding from Hurricane Helene.

In a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, the House District 60 Representative emphasized the challenges facing residents in her St. Pete-based district.

“The record-breaking storm surge and flooding in Pinellas County brought by Category 4 Hurricane Helene affected thousands of residents and left many in unlivable homes,” Cross wrote. “Residents in severely-impacted neighborhoods in St. Petersburg such as Shore Acres and Riviera Bay are left with most of their possessions on the curb and a long road to recovery ahead.”

Cross is asking FEMA to extend its disaster assistance to additional temporary housing options, including manufactured housing units, transportable housing units and direct leases.

“Providing temporary housing to those left financially and physically burdened by the effects of Hurricane Helene is imperative as we begin to recover as a community,” Cross wrote. “Our fellow Americans desperately need this assistance.

Flooding from the storm was widespread, including along the Gulf beaches, along Tampa Bay and in low-lying areas. Storm surge reached higher than 6 feet in parts of St. Pete, shattering the previous record set in 1985 of just shy of 4 feet.

Other areas in the Tampa Bay region also shattered previous records that were set just last year, including at more than 7 feet in East Bay on the eastern side of Tampa Bay, nearly 7 feet in Old Tampa Bay and just over 6 feet at Port Manatee. Clearwater storm surge reached nearly 7 feet, breaking a record of 4 feet set in 1993. Those numbers are according to WFLA.

Officials worry the number of displaced individuals could exacerbate an already difficult housing situation in St. Pete and throughout the region, as residents scramble to find temporary housing while homes are dried out and repaired.

Cleanup from a flood is a lengthy process that typically requires removing any porous, water-soaked items, such as carpet, cutting out drywall and sanitizing hard surfaces. In some cases, complete replacement is required. Regardless, many flood victims could be displaced for months.

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch has launched a “We Are St. Pete Fund” to provide disaster relief to city residents, businesses and employees. The city seeded the fund with $200,000. The city is partnering with the Pinellas Community Foundation on the fund. Donations will be used 100% for disaster victims, according to 10 Tampa Bay.