Study: Shores Acres responsible for millions in flood claims

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. It doesn't take much to flood the Shore Acres neighborhood in St. Petersburg, The area is known to flood even after a quick afternoon storm.

Now, we're learning through a study done by the city that one small part of the area is responsible for hundreds of flood insurance claims, totaling millions of dollars.

The idea of the study is to get these flood-prone areas under control so the high number of flood claims don't affect the price we pay for insurance.

The Repetitive Loss Area Analysis looked at about 1,500 properties in Shore Acres. Of those, 241 have made close to 400 flood insurance claims since 1978 totaling almost $14 million.

In February 2018, the City of St. Petersburg Community Rating System Coordinator sent out a letter the homeowners introducing them to the project and asking for feedback.

FEMA had recommended the city conduct the study, which also looked at Riviera Bay, another area known to have flooding issues.

They looked at 370 properties there and found just 40 of them account for $1.7 million in flood insurance claims.