Wednesday marks six months since Hurricane Helene left a path of destruction in Tampa. Nearly two weeks later, Hurricane Milton left its own path of destruction.On Monday, the City of Tampa opened a portal for homeowners to appl y for assistance as they continue to piece together their lives following the 2024 hurricane season.We met with Rob Seal, who has lived in Forest Hills for more than 30 years. Seal's yard is dug up to make room for new plumbing. The inside of his home is gutted."We were flooded in October with Milton, and we had about a foot of water throughout the house for about five days before the city got the pump started, and because it sat so long, we've lost everything in the home and both vehicles," he said.Seal helped a team remove more drywall from the home Wednesday."We went ahead and hired a general contractor. He kind of is shooting for a June date because we knew, since the house was flooded and since we had so much damage, that we would go ahead and do a few extra things, like all the plumbing that you see that's going on, we're redoing all of your plumbing, drains, and supply," he said. "We didn't expect to have to do any of this. We had been here 34 years and had the house the way we wanted it, and everything was fine."Seal's neighborhood isn't in a flood zone, so he didn't get flood insurance. Forest Hills flooded when a pump station generator failed to kick in, and water that should have been pumped out never moved.This is a substantial rebuild, and because of the fact that we did not have flood insurance, its all out of pocket, he explained. You know, 10 bucks would help, right? But it would be a great help. This is costing me three times what the house cost originally to put it back together.The City of Tampa has opened a portal for financial assistance, offering up to $20,000 for mortgage support, repair costs, or insurance deductibles. There's $3.2 million in funds.There are potentially more funds. The county is receiving federal government money that could potentially be used for housing. However, Councilmember Luis Viera said this is currently unclear. "We're dealing with people who have gone through a ton of paperwork over the last several months, and they've dealt with FEMA, they've dealt sometimes with their insurance companies, sometimes with private charities. And so they go look a whole other set of paperwork," he said.Councilmember Viera acknowledged that many families who exceed the qualifying income threshold still face dire financial situations. I would like to see additional funds dedicated where we can address the challenges we have had with this program and maybe make some modifications, particularly for the income qualification, he stated.Meanwhile, Seal voiced hope for better city infrastructure and preparedness in light of potential future storms. I would hope that in this upcoming season, that our city government pay close attention to the facilities that are in place and in existence to keep this from happening. You know, had those facilities been up and running, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. And they weren't. So they need to be inspected regularly. They need to be tested regularly and more frequently when storms are coming," he said. ...read more read less