LARGO, Fla. — This week marks two months since Hurricane Helene brought destruction to Tampa Bay's coastline. On Friday, the city of Largo held a meeting to answer residents' questions about rebuilding.

What You Need To Know

  • The city of Largo held a meeting Friday for residents rebuilding following Hurricanes Helene and Milton

  • The meeting focused on Arvis Circle, one of the harest-hit neighborhoods in the city

  • Residents were able to talk one-on-one with city staff and hear a presentation that included information about FEMA's 50% rule

  • One couple whose home flooded during Helene said they walked away with a better understanding of how to move forward

"The objective is just to provide as much information as we can to help our neighbors build back, and build back in a way that's compliant with state, local, and federal regulations," said Largo City Manager John Curp.

Curp said four or five neighborhoods in Largo were significantly impacted by the storms, and meetings are being held that focus on the individual communities.

Friday's meeting was for people who live in the Arvis Circle neighborhood.

"I think in Helene, this neighborhood saw a significant amount of storm surge," Curp said. "I think some of the houses were inundated with up to four or five feet of water."

Loraine and Tim Roylance were among those who attended one-on-one sessions with city staff at the start of the meeting. They said they had only lived in their Arvis Circle home for 28 days before disaster struck.

"Got up in the middle of the night, heard a gurgling sound, and he's like, 'That's the cat.' I looked down at the sliding glass door, and I'm like, 'I don't think so. There's water coming in everywhere,'" said Loraine.

They had just moved to Largo from Charleston, S.C. Helene left nine inches of water in their home.

"Everything we packed up and moved down here, most of it went to the curb," Loraine said.

"Trying to stay positive about everything," said Tim. "It's pretty easy to get depressed over losing a lot of family stuff, right?"

Since then, they've done what they can to get ready for repairs.

"We've had the house gutted, we've had the fans blowing for days on end," said Loraine. "I'm down to the bare concrete floors, and you can see through the walls."

"A lot of people struggle with, 'How do you build back? How do we do it in a way that's consistent with our local building code?'" said Curp. 

Curp said the city has made a lot of progress on debris pickup and is now focusing on helping residents recover, including by answering those questions. 

"Just how to get the permits, who does the permits?" Loraine said of questions she and Tim had.

"Trying to find out more information about that and the value we have to stay under to not go over that 50/50 rule," Tim added.

Curp said the federal 50% rule seems to be the big issue for many residents. 

"We know more now — how to keep going and to get everything fixed," said Tim after the one-on-one session.

The Roylances said the next step is getting estimates from their contractor, who they're scheduled to meet with on Monday.

"Good Lord, just get me back home," said Loraine.

Curp urges residents who have questions about rebuilding to give the city a call at (727) 587-6700.