CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — High floodwaters covering 58th Street North off Ulmerton Rd. in Clearwater make the area look like a massive pond with floating mobile homes. It’s Mariners Cove Mobile Home Park.
On Monday morning, Pinellas County Emergency Management reported 11 inches of rain in the county, keeping several Mariners Cove Mobile Home Park residents inside.
Marc Sidenstecker lives in that neighborhood and when he hears a big storm will hit, he knows just what to do.
“Anytime we get a tropical storm, hurricane, or even tropical depression we flood,” said Sidenstecker.
When we saw a man take his boat from the clear portion of the road down a few blocks to his home, it was obvious this Clearwater neighborhood has a system for protecting their belongings in big storms like Hurricane Debby.
Many of them believe it’s the only option.
“We can’t afford to go out to hotels and motels and everything else,” said Sidenstecker. “Most of us have several kids, low-income we can’t afford anything else.”
These neighbors can’t control the weather, but Seidensticker believes maintenance on a nearby creek would help relieve some of their headaches.
“Cross Bayou Creek is behind our property and it’s where most of our stormwater runoff is,” said Sidenstecker. “It literally runs all the way from Tampa Bay all the way to John’s Pass and the county hasn’t maintained it.”
Generators and sandbags are what these neighbors use to suffice. Most of them move their cars ahead of the storm anticipating flooding.
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