Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2844
December 21, 2023- December 27, 2023
A Watery Winter Storm During the early hours of Dec. 17, Gulfport was hit with flood levels rivaling those seen during Hurricane Idalia. For the whole previous day, Florida experienced rain and wind from a storm that made its way up the east coast. When high tide hit in the early morning hours, it brought water into the streets and businesses along Beach and Shore Boulevards. According to business owners, water reached levels comparable to those seen during Hurricane Idalia. This flooding caused a slew of problems for these businesses, from damaging merchandise to keeping stores closed.
BARRY LOPER
By Patrick Heinzen
Flooding Issues Along the beach, businesses faced some severe problems. Hurricane Eddies on Shore Boulevard called the fire department during clean-up efforts. “I smelled burning, and realized it was an electrical wire heating up,” said Will Hinton, a bartender at Hurricane Eddies. “I had to shut off the breakers and called the fire department, just to be safe.” The biggest issue a lot of business-
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Dec. 17 Gulfport storm damage to Gulfport businesses and boats in Boca Ciega Bay seemed worse to some than damage from Idalia.
es faced was flooding. Along Beach Boulevard, businesses faced what many estimated to be about 3-1/2 inches of water. Tommy’s Hideaway spent the morning cleaning up their floors, hoping to open on time.
“We were open during the rain, but it really hurt our business. The weather channels were telling everyone to stay inside,” said Tommy Lussiano, owner of Tommy’s HideStorm continued on page 10