Pinellas County residents displaced by Hurricane Helene have resources to find short and long-term housing. Those include the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Displacement Assistance program, which provides up-front money to help with immediate needs. To apply, call 1-800-621-3362, visit the website here, or go to the Disaster Recovery Center at 120 Central Park Drive in Largo. To view a list of county housing resources, visit the website here or call (727) 464-4333 for shelter information.
The Cross Bay Ferry resumes service between downtown St. Petersburg and Tampa today and will operate from Wednesday through Sunday. It will carry passengers to all Tampa Bay Lightning home games at Amalie Arena. The ferry departs from Port St. Pete at 250 8th Ave. SE and arrives at the Tampa Convention Center at 333 South Franklin St. For more information, visit the website here.
The Florida Department of Financial Services will open an “insurance village” Friday at the Clearwater Parks & Recreation Long Center at 1501 North Belcher Rd. Over 40 insurers will participate in the event from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. through Sunday. Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said companies would provide initial claim checks for storm victims.
Multiple area nonprofits and other organizations are coming together to host a multi-stop hurricane relief drive Friday, Oct. 4 in St. Petersburg. The free event will include hot meals, nonperishable foods, water, produce, cleaning supplies, hygiene items, pet food, diapers, information and resources. The stops include:
Airbnb.org is providing free, temporary housing for people who have been displaced by Hurricane Helene. The organization has partnered with with the Florida United Methodist Conference (FLUMC), United Way of the Piedmont and 211 contact centers in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina to connect people with a free place to stay. Florida residents displaced by the hurricane should contact FLUMC by calling (863) 688-5563 or (800) 282-8011 (toll-free) or by contacting their local 211, which they can find at 211.org.
The Pinellas County Urban League will be giving out free food Friday, Oct. 4 at its office at 333 31st St. N. The nonprofit will also provide recovery resources like cleaning kits, legal and financial advice, voting information and more.
BetterHelp, an online therapy platform, is offering three months of free counseling to those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Victims can redeem the free counseling by visiting betterhelp.com/voucher and using the code hurricane-helene-support.
The City of St. Petersburg has launched streamlined permit applications for urgent repairs, is waiving some fees for hurricane-related repairs and is setting up remote permitting sites in an effort to make the permitting process easier for homeowners dealing with storm damage. These remote permitting sites are open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m - 2 p.m.:
The St. Petersburg Police Department urged residents to dry flooded items in the backyards as removing anything from debris piles on the curb does not constitute looting or theft. “For any theft or burglary to be considered looting the property must be taken from inside of a home/shed or the enclosed area surrounding it, like a porch or garage, with the intent to steal the property,” police officials wrote Wednesday in a social media post.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Wednesday afternoon that the President has made additional disaster assistance available to the State of Florida. The federal cost-share - the amount authorities will pay - has increased from 75% to 100% for 90 days. The increase applies to all areas affected by Hurricane Helene and is retroactive to Sept. 23.
St. Petersburg’s Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, NAACP chapter, Unity in Disaster and Cross & Anvil Human Services have partnered to provide storm relief items for babies and seniors. Mount Zion AME Church at 1045 16th St. S will host the event, which begins at noon Thursday. Attendees can also receive hot meals.
Tampa International Airport (TPA) has been named Best Large Airport and Best Airport for Dining in USA Today's 2024 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The publication released its rankings Wednesday, naming TPA as #1 in two categories for the first time.
