Tow companies, auto repair shops see surge in demand after back-to-back hurricanes

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Between Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a lot of vehicles were damaged by the floodwaters, leading to a surge in demand for tow truck companies and service at auto repair shops.

With 43 years in the towing business, Ginger Darling said calls at her company, Nationwide Towing in Pinellas County, are up nearly 75%.

"Inundated with capital letters is how busy we’ve been," said Darling. 

READ: Tourism impacted after Hurricanes Helene, Milton leave devastating toll on Treasure Island

She said keeping up with demand has been a challenge, and she’s not the only towing company seeing the storms’ impacts. 

"I’ll call somebody to sublet it out to or just let them do it. I hear repeatedly, ‘We’re busy for three days. We can’t do it. We might get to it this afternoon. We might get to it in two days,’" said Darling. "We’re all much more busy than we normally are. And we are working alongside the firemen, the paramedics, the police, the linemen."

It’s just one of the signs that lives have been turned upside down. At Middleton’s Auto Care in St. Petersburg, they cleaned up the damage and debris, then got back to work. General manager and vice president of Middleton’s Auto Care, Donavan Middleton, said they’re seeing more from Helene than Milton, so far.

"You see standing water in cupholders, and as soon as you open the door you know the vehicle’s unfortunately totaled," said Middleton. "You just kindly shut the door and call the customer and let them go to the insurance company next."

MORE: Driver hits Pinellas workers after blowing through barricades blocking flooded road: FHP

And the turmoil may not be over.

"It’s all the unseen ghosts that are going to happen. There’s going to be a lot of electrical nightmares," said Middleton. 

He said any car that was exposed to water would show signs. It doesn’t have to be noticeably flooded out.

"There’s a lot of things that water will seep into slowly that may have disabled the car already, or they’re going to in the future. You just don’t know it," said Middleton.

READ: Bay Area bird sanctuary recovering from significant storm damage: 'It's very devastating'

Watching for rust and shorts is a start, and it helps to clean the car too.

"Get them cleaned as soon as possible with fresh water. Kind of like washing a boat when you get it out of the bay for the first time," said Middleton. "You’ve got to clean it all down, scrub it down. You’ve got to do the same thing with a car as best you can. That's all you can really do."

Darling said customers have been through a lot the past few weeks.

"I went to a man to pick up his Ford Raptor truck. He loved that truck, on Madeira Beach. And he saw me when I got out of the truck, and he just burst in tears," said Darling. "He was a big man, a big burly guy. He burst in tears, because his horrible nightmare was starting to have a chain of events to get him on a better plateau."

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They said compassion and patience goes a long way as the Tampa Bay area finds its sense of normal again. 

"Everyone’s going through a lot and a lot of folks have gone through a lot more than some of us. You don’t even know what they’ve gone through. So yeah, I think patience is key," said Middleton.

Middleton’s Auto Care said some people even had to wait for adjusters to come out for their cars, so that’s another thing for drivers to keep in mind. Darling said she and other tow companies in the area are working in shifts to keep up with the demand. 

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