City braces for ‘most impactful storm we’ve faced’

Evacuations ahead of Hurricane Milton began Monday morning – less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused 12 deaths and flooded over 15,000 homes in Pinellas County.

Commissioner Kathleen Peters noted that overwhelmed residents have just begun to rebuild from the previous storm, the worst in a century, at a Sunday afternoon emergency briefing. The National Hurricane Center expects Milton to inundate the area with an eight to 12-foot storm surge, nearly double Helene’s local impacts.

As of 7 a.m., Milton has rapidly intensified into a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds. Forecasting models show a catastrophic storm making landfall between the mouth of Tampa Bay and Sarasota County.

“This is the most impactful storm we’ve faced – much stronger than Hurricane Helene and remindful of Hurricane Charlie,” said Mayor Ken Welch. “We will already be rebuilding for years because of Hurricane Helene, and that will be exacerbated by the impacts of this storm.”

The governor recently deployed the National Guard to help assist with local Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Photo: Beth Leet, Facebook.

County officials have ordered a mandatory evacuation for all residential healthcare facilities in Zones A, B and C. They have also urged voluntary evacuations for residents in those areas.

Cathie Perkins, emergency management director, said the order affects six hospitals, 25 nursing homes and 44 assisted living facilities. Schools have closed to shelter people from “life-threatening” storm surge and wind.

“This is going to be bad,” said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. “That’s all you really need to know. Everybody just needs to get out.”

Returning home could take longer for those who leave. Gualtieri noted that Milton’s sustained winds would also likely double Helene’s, and officials “may have to shut down all the ingress and egress points in the county itself.”

He said the county could issue mandatory evacuations Monday for all businesses and residences in Zones A, B and C. That would encompass over half the population – more than 500,000 people.

Gualtieri expects the county’s densely populated barrier islands to again bear the brunt of storm impacts. He noted first responders could not respond to 1,500 calls for help during Helene.

While law enforcement will not force people to evacuate, Gualtieri pledged to “be a little more assertive with it this time.” He said officials would ensure bars and restaurants shut down to mitigate “the tragedy we had a week and a half ago.”

“People need to know that they’re not going to get back in right away,” Gualtieri added. “Right now is the time. It’s a great opportunity to get your homes as secure as you can get them and to move on and get out of the county.”

Governor Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 51 counties over the weekend, including Pinellas and Hillsborough. The region is under hurricane and storm surge watches.

Perkins said Tropical Storm-force winds could arrive Tuesday evening. Sandbags will not protect against the storm surge.

However, Perkins said sandbags could help mitigate flooding from an expected five to eight inches of rain. Those totals could reach a foot in some neighborhoods. She also urged residents to move vehicles and equipment with lithium-ion batteries out of flood zones due to the extreme fire hazard when submerged in saltwater.

“If you’re going to go out of county, remember, this storm is going to be impacting inland counties, too,” Perkins said. “Not with storm surge, but they’re going to see the winds, and they’re going to see their rainfall.”

Hurricane Helene’s storm surge decimated Pinellas County’s barrier islands. Officials expect worse impacts from Hurricane Milton. Screengrab, Facebook.

All St. Petersburg city facilities have closed to the public. Those include remote permitting sites and other recovery operations related to Helene.

City officials will offer free parking at the South Core parking garage starting at 5 p.m. for residents who need to elevate vehicles. They have also opened a debris management site at 1953 72^nd St. N.

That site is open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Residents should bring their driver’s license or water bill, and the city will accept commercially hauled, separated debris but not hazardous materials. Private contractors must fill out this form.

Welch noted that unlike Helene, which passed 100 miles offshore as it trekked northward, a more powerful storm is now “headed directly for us.” He said stakeholders still have time – and experience – on their side.

“We’ll get through this, we’ll rebuild,” Welch added. “But we don’t have to lose another life. When you hear the call (to evacuate), please respond to it.”

For countywide storm updates, visit the website here. For St. Petersburg-related information, visit the website here.