Pinellas County saw increased flooding during Milton because of faulty water pumps

Concerns over stormwater lift stations

FOX 13's Jordan Bowen reports on a Palm Harbor couple that's home flooded during Hurricane Milton despite not being in a flood zone due to faulty stormwater pumps.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - Flooding is a problem for several neighborhoods across the Bay Area, but unprecedented flooding occurred for some residents in the Spanish Oaks neighborhood of Palm Harbor.

A nearby lift station may have contributed to the problem.

Around 8:00 p.m. the night Hurricane Milton moved through the Bay Area, water started gushing in under the door of Kevin and Kiley Fisher's Palm Harbor home.

Inches of flood water build up in the Fishers backyard during Hurricane Milton

The couple spent the next hour trying to use tarps to mitigate the flooding, but by 9 p.m., their backyard had nearly five feet of flood water.

"By the time we got to the baby, the water was up to his crib mattress, so [Kevin] got the baby," Kiley Fisher said. "I carried our six-year-old. The water out in our cul-de-sac was waist height,"

The Fishers don't have flood insurance because, according to the FEMA map, they're not in a flood zone. They say being outside a flood zone was why they bought the home in 2015.

However, during Hurricane Milton, one of 18 other homes had a foot of flood water built up inside it.

"The thought is that because of Helene, the ground was just so saturated and there was possibly some damage to the infrastructure of the drains," Kiley Fisher said.

They've since learned from Pinellas County that this lift station down the street, designed to pump sewage away from the property and into the storm system, may have worked differently if the storm drain was clogged during the storm.

"If it's a maintenance issue, if drains need to be looked at after large storms, … but something to make sure that everything's properly working when we get a week heads up when a hurricane's coming," Kiley Fisher said. "So I feel like there's plenty of time to prepare."

Fisher says she's been in touch with Pinellas County Commissioners, who've said they plan to complete an evaluation of their area to understand exactly what caused massive flooding in an area not designated as a flood zone.

The Fishers have lost nearly all their belongings and have had to rip out all their flooring and most of their drywall.

Fisher hopes Pinellas County learns precisely what went wrong so she and her neighbors don't find themselves in a dangerous situation like this ever again.

"There's no doubt in my mind--the amount of water that was on the outside of the garage as opposed to inside, it took every bit of me and Ben pulling that door open just to get out there--they would have been stuck inside," Kevin Fisher said.

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