ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – Marc Hall and his wife have lived in their home on 82nd Avenue in St. Petersburg for more than 16 years and they’ve never seen flooding like they did the night Tropical Storm Eta brushed the shore.
“So, at about high tide last night, midnight, the water started coming in under the door and it wouldn’t stop,” said Hall. “We did what we could, but after a while, there’s just nothing you could do.”
That was about the time that Michael Previtera jumped in his boat and started checking on neighbors. Streets had turned into waterways.
“For those that were ready to get out and get to 83rd where it was a little bit drier,” said Previtera. “Trying to make sure they were able to get there.”
A canal runs through the middle of the Riviera Bay subdivision. The neighborhood is just south of Gandy Boulevard and east of 4th Street North.
“About 9 o’clock, the canal started pushing pretty much onto the street,” said Previtera. “And at that point, the pond behind the house and canal converged together. “
Hall says the rain just kept coming down and when high tide rolled in with the wind blowing, Eta was the perfect storm.
“This whole area was underwater. The park was underwater. The church parking lot was underwater. That was underwater. The street was underwater,” said Hall. “Everything was underwater.”
Hall admits Wednesday night was stressful, but today is another day.
“There’s really not a whole lot you can do,” said Hall. “You can try and keep it out but once it goes past sandbags and everything like that all you can do is go to bed, wake up the next morning and start over.”
