Residents advised to begin sheltering in place until storm fully exits

Residents advised to begin sheltering in place until storm fully exits

Pinellas County residents should begin sheltering in place as storm conditions worsen in their area due to Hurricane Helene. The Category 4 hurricane is bringing storm surge flooding, tropical storm force winds, rain, fallen trees and power lines.

Conditions have already rapidly deteriorated in the barrier islands and soon will expand to the rest of Zone A. Based on these conditions, please plan to shelter in place to keep yourself and your family as safe as possible.

If water begins to enter your home, shut off your electricity and gas, and climb to the highest point possible, but make sure you have an escape route.

Residents outside of Zone A should also stay indoors and wait for an all-clear advisory from officials. Roads may be flooded or closed, power lines may be down and traffic lights might not work. A car can be washed away or disabled by only a foot of water on the road. Avoid walking through floodwater because it may contain bacteria, wildlife, sharp objects and live power lines.

Storm surge is expected to reach its highest point tonight, but flooding is expected to linger in some areas into Friday. Pinellas County Public Works will begin assessing infrastructure damage and clearing roads early Friday as soon as conditions become safer for crews to travel.

Latest storm/incident developments

• Hurricane Helene has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane with 125 mph winds and is expected to continue strengthening before it makes landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida on Thursday evening. It will pass the Tampa Bay area offshore but is forecast to bring 5 to 8 feet of storm surge, tropical storm-force force winds and flooding.
• Pinellas County remains under a Storm Surge Warning, Tropical Storm Warning, Hurricane Watch and Tornado Watch.

Pinellas County response/action

• The Emergency Operations Center and County Information Center are open 24 hours to respond to the storm. Call (727) 464-4333. Residents who are deaf or hard of hearing can contact the County Information Center via online chat at www.bit.ly/PinellasChat.

Advice & Information for Residents

• If water is rising in your home:
  • Stay inside.
  • Before you lose power, report your location to an emergency contact who is out of the area so they can help first responders locate you after the storm.
  • Shut off water, gas service and electricity if possible.
  • Move to the second floor or higher if needed.
  • Stand on top of a counter or substantial piece of furniture to stay above the rising water.

• If you lose power and use a generator, set it up in a well-ventilated location outside, away from all doors, windows and vent openings. Never use a generator in a garage, even with the door open, because the exhaust can poison you with carbon monoxide.
• Water-damaged power outlets can cause fires. Keep your power off after home flooding until an electrician can inspect.
• Call 911 only in a life-threatening emergency.
• Call the Citizen Information Center if you need information.
• First responders may not be able to respond during storm conditions. These calls will be placed into a queue, prioritized, and answered as soon as conditions allow.

Conserve water during the storm

In the event of potential power outages, water treatment plants will be operating under limited conditions, which means your water pressure could be reduced. Lift stations that are used to move sewage to wastewater treatment plants may also experience limited operations during this time. What you can do to help during a storm:

• Limit running dishwashers and washing machines.
• Fill up your bathtub with water in case you need it to flush your toilets manually.
• Limit your amount of toilet flushing. Overuse of flushing, or water going down drains, could potentially cause overflow and backup to come out of your drains.
• If you need to flush, use the water saved from filling up your tub because it won't pull water directly from the pipe.

Stay informed

• Stay informed: Monitor local news media, National Weather Service, disaster.pinellas.gov, Facebook @PinellasGov, X @PinellasGov, search hashtag #PCHelene. Check for updates regularly as storm forecasts and guidance can change quickly.
• Register for emergency alerts at disaster.pinellas.gov and download the Ready Pinellas app in the App Store or Google Play store for real-time storm updates.