PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Hurricanes Helene and Milton left thousands of Bay Area homeowners and businesses with substantial damage and in a difficult, costly situation, especially if they choose to remain in their neighborhoods.

What You Need To Know

  • Communities are required to comply with floodplain management regulations to continue taking part in the National Flood Insurance Program

  • Barbara Banno is having her home elevated 14 feet to help protect against flooding

  • Banno estimates the cost of elevating her home at approximately $260,000

  • Construction on her elevated home is expected to be completed this fall before the peak of the 2025 hurricane season

Communities are required to comply with floodplain management regulations to continue taking part in the National Flood Insurance Program, which means substantially damaged properties must be moved, demolished and rebuilt, or elevated to meet or exceed FEMA’s Base Flood Elevation.

“It’s about protecting lives and personal property,” said Kevin McAndrew, the Pinellas County Director of Building and Development Review Services Department.

“One of the overarching goals of floodplain management is to not have homeowners make a large reinvestment after storm damage and be subject to a repeat occurrence, so the whole idea of elevating is to break that cycle,” McAndrew added.

With a substantial damage determination of nearly 75 percent, Gulfport resident and business owner Barbara Banno is finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel after deciding to elevate her hurricane-damaged home.

Banno, who has lived in Gulfport for nearly 20-years, stated that she is committed to revitalizing and remaining in her community.

“Leaving was never an option,” said the owner of Stella’s restaurant and several other local businesses along Beach Boulevard South in Gulfport.

“We’ll be elevating about 14-feet, and once we made that decision there was a huge weight that was lifted, and I knew I was making the right decision. We get to keep our home, and we get to prevent us from ever experiencing and going through this nightmare again,” Banno continued.

She had been living in temporary housing for several months, along with many other Gulfport residents enduring a shared trauma as they try to repair and rebuild their homes.

“We have this common bond that will never divide us, so it’s really brought a lot of people together, “ said Banno. “You see people in our community and they say, ‘Did you make it? Did you have any damage or how is the progress?’”

Seeing her neighbor’s elevated home that’s currently under construction by JAS Builders, the same company Banno has under contract, gives her hope.

Barbara Banno's neighbor's home being elevated (Courtesy / Spectrum News)
Barbara Banno's neighbor's home being elevated (Courtesy / Spectrum News)

“They’ve done so much and just seeing it up that high automatically gives me so much peace of mind,” she continued.

Spectrum Bay News 9 Meteorologist Brian McClure emphasized the importance of preparing for the worst-case scenario in flood-prone areas.

“I highly recommend that whoever can does exactly that and get the home up as high as you can,” said McClure.

“Hurricanes Helene and Milton are the worst storms that we’ve had in many, many years, but we could technically have a worst storm where the storm surge goes up even higher. It is smarter to go up as high as possible,” he added.

Banno estimates the cost of elevating her home at approximately $260,000, but she considers it a reinvestment in her home and the community she loves.

“Pinellas County offers great incentives and perks, and there’s a $30,000 FEMA grant out there that you could qualify for, so every little bit helps, and we’re just taking advantage of any of those different incentives out there,” Banno said.

Construction on her elevated home is expected to be completed this fall before the peak of the 2025 hurricane season.

Pinellas County has extended the time frame for homeowners with a substantial damage determination by an additional 12 months.

“For those with substantial damage that don’t have a clear path as to what option they want to pursue, the county has extended compliance until June 1st of 2026, and what we ask is that during this period of time, a homeowner makes a good faith effort towards pursuing compliance,” said McAndrew.

“That might be working with an architect to pursue the cost of elevation or reconstruction. It may be pursuing resources through a small business administration loan. Pinellas County received $813 million through a HUD Community Development Block Grant, and there are active workshops underway with public input. The greatest percentage will go towards unmet housing needs.”