PLANT CITY, Fla. — Families are working to pick up the pieces after Debby impacted many homes in Hillsborough County. One of those locations was Plant City.


What You Need To Know

  • Residents in the Pine Oak Mobile Home Park community say they saw knee-deep flooding from Debbie
  • Domingo Antunez Simon has been checking in on neighbors who say they are concerned by the flooding
  • Residents can report damage to their property with the county government

Dozens of residents are stranded in their homes in a mobile home park community, and residents say this isn’t the first time they’ve seen flooding in the area.

On one side of the community, it’s hard to tell there was a storm here a few days ago. But on the other side it’s a different story.

“It’s always the same situation and we want something to be done so this doesn’t happen again,” resident Domingo Antunez Simon said.

He has lived in the community for eight years, and he said year after year, the damage to his home gets worse.

“Right now, unfortunately, we don’t know when this lagoon of water will end," he said. "And it’s not just impacting me, but everyone around here."

The water has risen so high that Simon said he will have to replace his air conditioning unit for the third time.

Abigail Ramirez Bautista has lived in the mobile home park for three years and said she is worried about the aftermath of the flooding.

“It’s a lot, honestly, and for my children it’s worse, because all this water is going to bring a lot of mosquitoes," she said. "I want someone to come help and realize this is an issue."

Across from where Simon lives, Ana Boxtha says the water is keeping her indoors. Even when it’s just a small rain, she said the flooding concerns her.

“Now, I can’t take my kids out and it’s really hard for us to do stuff at this point,” she said.

Simon and his neighbors say they want city leaders to help bring some solutions, because he wants to continue living in this community, rain or shine.

Residents who live in Hillsborough County can report damage to their property on the county website.