The City of St. Petersburg has launched a geographic information systems (GIS) map that allows residents to enter their addresses and see if they can safely flush their toilets, bathe, and wash clothes or dishes without fears of causing a sewage overflow. Officials shuttered the Northeast Sewer Treatment Plant due to Hurricane Helene’s storm surge Thursday night. Businesses and residences located north of 30th Avenue and east of I-275 cannot drain water.
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital has canceled the 11th annual Run for All Children set to occur Saturday due to Hurricane Helene’s “serious impact to many communities.” While the hospital will not reschedule the event, officials will share additional information in the coming day. Normal visitation policies have resumed at the hospital.
Tampa Bay Rowdies and USL Championship officials have postponed the club’s match Saturday against Hartford Athletic at Al Lang Stadium due to Hurricane Helene’s local impact. They have yet to announce a makeup date. For information regarding previously purchased tickets, write to the email address here.
Safety Harbor's 22-year-old Fire Marshal Brock Memorial Pier, severely damaged by Hurricane Debby in August, was destroyed by Hurricane Helene Thursday.
The Florida Department of Transportation has announced the southbound Howard Frankland Bridge (I-275) from Hillsborough County to Pinellas County is now open. The northbound Howard Frankland Bridge (I-275) from Pinellas County to Manatee County will remain closed until debris clearing and damage assessment is complete.
After suspending operations due to Hurricane Helene, St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is reopening at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Airport officials are advising travelers to contact their airline regarding flight updates.
Tampa International Airport is now fully open and operational after suspending commercial and cargo flight operations Thursday due to Hurricane Helene.
Airport Operations staff conducted damage assessments early Friday morning and determined TPA did not sustain any significant damage from the storm.
Storm surge forced the shutdown of the treatment facility, which effects residents and businesses located north of 30th Avenue N and east of I-275/Haines Road. Residents in the effected area must not drain water, take showers, do laundry, or flush toilets. Draining water will cause sewage to back up into homes/businesses. It will take at least 48 hours to resume plant operations.
Pinellas County officials will close access to barrier islands at 6 p.m. Thursday for all citizens until further notice. Residents can still evacuate. The closure affects Belleair Beach, Belleair Shore, Clearwater Beach, the Dunedin Causeway, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Madeira Beach, North Redington Beach, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, St. Pete Beach, Tierra Verde and Treasure Island.
St. Petersburg officials are urging residents not to remove manhole covers after an incident Thursday morning. Claude Tankersley, public works administrator, said someone removed a cover on Newton Avenue South to clean a screen they thought contributed to flooding. He said that allows stormwater into the sanitary sewer system and could cause overflows.
Farm Share, Florida's largest independent food bank, is preparing for Hurricane Helene by readying 90,000 pounds of food, water and emergency supplies for immediate distribution in affected areas. The organization aims to mobilize community relief operations as soon as conditions permit. Residents can visit farmshare.org/disaster-relief for updates on where they can access necessities once the storm has passed.
St. Petersburg-based Duke Energy anticipates “widespread damage” and “extended outages” due to Hurricane Helene. The company has staged 8,000 workers around the state to respond, “as soon as conditions allow.” The Duke Energy Foundation also donated an additional $50,000 to the American Red Cross to support disaster relief. The foundation has donated $3.5 million to the nonprofit over the past five years.
