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.
Cathie Perkins, emergency management director for Pinellas County, said Thursday morning that coastal residents have a final opportunity to receive public transportation to shelters. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority announced Wednesday that it would close today due to Hurricane Helene. Perkins would conduct “one shot up and down the barrier islands starting at 10 a.m.” For more information, call the County Information Center at 727-464-4333.
St. Petersburg sandbag sites closed at roughly 4 p.m. Wednesday due to inclement weather and employee safety. Councilmember Brandi Gabbard reported that the city distributed 39,000 sandbags before closing, 91,000 since extending operations Sunday ahead of Hurricane Helene and 139,000 since Jan. 1.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), which has provided free rides to storm shelters for evacuees, will suspend service Thursday due to Hurricane Helene. The suspension includes all routes and will last “until further notice.” PSTA will continue normal operations through Wednesday night.
Tampa International Airport has announced it will suspend all commercial and cargo operations beginning at 2 a.m. Thursday ahead of Hurricane Helene, with the airport remaining closed to the public until it can assess any damage after the storm. TPA officials addeed the Main Terminal and Airsides will not be open for public use, and that the aiport is not equipped to function as a shelter for people or vehicles.
A notification from the Veo app just before 1:15 p.m. Wednesday alerted, "Due to incoming weather, service is temporarily suspended until further notice." Veo provides ride-share scooters in downtown St. Petersburg.
Florida residents in Hurricane Helene’s path can receive 30 days of free self-storage and U-Box portable container from U-Haul. Nearly 20 U-Haul franchisees have preemptively made 136 facilities available across the state. View participating stores here.
Level Up Auto Sales recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The St. Petersburg used car dealership reported between $10 million and $50 million in debt and $1 million and $10 million in assets. Used car prices surged during the pandemic, and dealerships have since faced declining margins and less demand.
