Mayor urges residents to heed evacuation orders

Pinellas County officials ordered a mandatory Zone A evacuation at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday ahead of what would soon become Hurricane Helene. That encompasses coastal neighborhoods countywide, some low-lying areas several miles inland and all mobile home parks.

Forecasts project a local five-to-eight-foot storm surge.

St. Petersburg’s first responders rescued over 75 people from Hurricane Idalia’s roughly four-foot storm surge in August 2023. Mayor Ken Welch is imploring residents to help keep them out of harm’s way.

Welch said the “time to prepare is now” at a Tuesday evening briefing at St. Petersburg Police headquarters. He also noted that a “higher storm surge than Tampa Bay has experienced in recent history” will impact the area “for a longer time period than during Hurricane Idalia.”

“What we’re really concerned about is folks responding when we get an evacuation order,” Welch said. “Almost every major storm, we have dozens of high-water rescues because folks don’t respond to that evacuation order.

“We’re putting our first responders at risk to try and go in and save folks.”

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue will halt operations when sustained winds reach 40 mph. Meteorologists expect the area to see 50 mph to 70 mph gusts.

Forecasting models agree that a powerful hurricane will make landfall in the Panhandle Thursday evening. However, County Administrator Barry Burton said the 415-mile-wide storm would span from Pinellas to Georgia.

“We’re going to feel the impacts of storm surge,” Burton said Wednesday morning. “And when water consumes you, there’s no way to help you. So, today’s the day to prepare.”

A map of evacuation zones around St. Petersburg. Screengrab, county documents.

Cathie Perkins, emergency management director for the county, said evacuees could shelter at area hotels or with friends and family. Six shelters are now open.

Those include Dunedin Highland Middle, Gibbs High, John Hopkins Middle, Largo High, the Lealman Innovation Academy and Palm Harbor University High Schools. For more information on which facilities serve residents with pets and those with special needs, visit the website here.

“You don’t need to go hundreds of miles,” Perkins said. “There’s lots of areas in the county where people can go.”

County officials issued a mandatory evacuation Tuesday for long-term healthcare centers in Zone A. That encompassed two hospitals, 14 nursing homes and 10 assisted living facilities.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue began evacuating residents with special needs at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Those requiring assistance, like oxygen or transportation, can still register by calling the County Information Center at (727) 464-4333.

Welch said Tuesday evening that residents “don’t have to wait for a mandatory evacuation to leave,” regardless of their zones.

Amber Boulding, emergency manager for the City of St. Petersburg, said municipal officials collaborate with their county counterparts, who ultimately decide if or when to order evacuations. She also noted that every municipality “is different.”

“We have some very low-lying coastal areas and neighborhoods where it doesn’t take a Level A evacuation to put water in their houses,” Boulding added. “If you are a resident that flooded during Idalia last year – and we’re expecting higher storm surge than that – that should be a clue that you … should prepare appropriately.”

The city distributed over 33,000 sandbags by Tuesday afternoon. Several sites, found at the website here, will remain open until 7 p.m. or as long as the weather permits.

Public works officials have deployed pump stations and generators to the flood-prone Riviera Bay and Shore Acres neighborhoods. Crews have also cleaned drains and grates in low-lying areas, and reduced lake levels to accommodate an influx of stormwater.

Welch also asked residents to help mitigate impacts by not washing clothes or running dishwashers from Wednesday through Friday. That will increase the city’s capacity to store and treat stormwater.