INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Tuesday marked 48 days since Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Tampa Bay area.
Some residents in Indian Rocks Beach said that's also how long they haven't been able to stay in their homes.
Lori Hurley was picking up her mail at her E. Gulf Boulevard apartment last week when she noticed the silence.
"Just nobody around right here. Joe should be walking his dog," Hurley said of one of her neighbors. "I should be hearing hammers and nails and drills."
Hurley said even weeks after Helene, her neighborhood is a ghost town. She and her boyfriend are among those who left after feet of storm surge damaged their apartment. She said they've been living in an Airbnb while their landlord waits on the okay to make repairs.
"Awful — awful not being able to just get in your house, go lay in your bed, cook dinner," Hurley said.
"It's been a nightmare," echoed Shawn Lee.
Lee owns a home on Bay Boulevard that is a second home for his family, as well as a rental property. He said he tried to get a head start on the repair process when he applied for a permit on Oct. 1. That was the beginning of weeks of waiting.
"They processed everything by around the 14th, and he said, 'Hey, pretty much ready, but we're waiting on this one letter'," Lee said. "They were kind of vague about what I needed. They just said, 'Wait for this letter to arrive in the mail'."
According to the Resident's Guide to Rebuilding on the city's website, a letter of determination lets owners know if a home is substantially damaged. If it's not, they can apply for building permits to start repairs. The decision is based on an assessment by Pinellas County.
Meggen McLeod, the daughter of Hurley's landlord, told Spectrum News that's what's holding up repairs on her apartment, as well.
"Our contractors are ready to go. My neighbors' contractors are ready to go. Everyone's ready to go," Hurley said. "Please push this paperwork through."
Indian Rocks Beach Mayor Denise Houseberg said she heard from the county that 95% of substantial damage inspections were complete and that the first batch of letters is expected to be sent late this week or early next. An official told people at Tuesday's city commission meeting that a small amount of those are headed to Indian Rocks Beach — roughly 100 in a city with 3,200 structures — but more will follow.
As for Hurley, she said she and her boyfriend are moving into a Clearwater hotel this week with help from a voucher from the Federal Emergency Management agency. That expires on Jan. 14.
"We're losing sleep over that. Here we are — we all have a home. We all work hard for these homes that we can't even touch, we can't even get into — nothing. Can't even put up a wall," Hurley said.
City Manager Brently Gregg Mims said at the commission meeting that he learned during a conference call with city building officials from around the county that Indian Rocks Beach isn't the only community working through this process.
"I asked the group on the call if any other city, beach city, had begun the notice process that we refer to as SD letters, or the non-SD letters," Mims said. "The only one that's begun is Madeira Beach, and I asked them specifically, 'Well, how many have you sent out?' He said, 'About seven.' So, this is kind of an area-wide problem."
Pinellas County Public Information Coordinator John Carkeet said the county is working to review the Substantial Damage/Substantial Improvement process. He said Tidal Basin has completed more than 20,000 inspections, and letters will be sent soon. According to Carkeet, if owners' repair costs are less than 49% of the value of a home, excluding land, they can apply for permits now. That applies even if a letter hasn't been received.
According to Hetty Harmon, the city's planning and zoning consultant, the permit process can also move forward for homeowners who can show floodwaters were less than 12 inches and below electrical outlets or that the structure is elevated and flooding only affected the garage and entryway on the first floor.