BRANDON, Fla. — While the Tampa Bay Area prepares for a new storm season, some residents are still recovering and rebuilding from disaster left behind from previous storms.

Heading into storm season 20204, John Sims is still dealing with damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022.

“We were sitting right in front of the windows when the tree came down,” said Sims, describing how he barely survived the storm that hit his Brandon home.

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“Living room ceiling came down, missed me by about a foot, so we’re lucky to be alive," he added.

Two days later, it turned into more than surviving the storm, Sims suffered a heart attack and was pushed through recovery while trying to rebuild.

“It’s been a long ordeal trying to get all the permits and everything done through the insurance companies,” said Sims.

President and CEO of TomCo Solutions, Tommy Whitehead is Sims’ licensed contractor. He said the damage done to Sims' property was extensive.

“Total rebuild all the way down to not even being able to save the concrete foundation,” he said.

“It took five months to get a payout from the insurance company, five months after having a qualified engineer say that the house was not salvageable,” Whitehead added while urging area residents to make sure they're prepared for this year's hurricane season.

“Review your insurance policies with your agent and make sure you have the proper coverages,” he said. “A lot of homes have increased in value and they haven’t increased their insurance policy, and so you don’t have enough insurance money to build back your home.”

“Do you have your proper coverage to rebuild? You need to ask your insurance agent before every storm season, 'Do I have the best coverage? Do I have the best contents coverage? Do I have ALE, that’s living expenses in case I can’t live in my house. And do I have any accessory structure coverage?' if you have a shed, a fence or other things, it’s a whole other coverage level,” Whitehead said.

He recommended the following maintenance tips to prepare for hurricane season:

  • Check for cracks in stucco
  • Touch up paint and caulk around windows
  • Make sure landscaping is pulled off or away from home
  • Have A licensed arborist check and/or trim any suspect trees

Sims said it has been a long two years.

“We’ve just been living in transition for so long, it’s very difficult,” said Sims, who said he was more than ready to settle back into his home this summer.

In the meantime, he’s trying to focus on the positive and look forward to some of the new features of his home.

“Now, we’ve got a big open kitchen and we both love to cook so open kitchen is a good thing,” Sims said.