The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday evening that Hurricane Helene’s local death toll has increased to 11. Of the 11 fatalities, three occurred in Indian Rocks Beach, two in St. Pete Beach and one person died in Pinellas Park, Dunedin, Madeira Beach, St. Petersburg, Redington Shores and Treasure Island. The sheriff’s office reported nine people “apparently drowned,” a woman in Dunedin died from a fire and a Pinellas Park resident found in his pool drowned and “was possibly electrocuted.”
The Off-Central, the St. Petersburg professional theater at 2260 1st Avenue S., has postponed this week's scheduled opening of the one-person show The Hollow. It will now debut Oct. 9 and continue through Oct. 20.
The City of St. Petersburg has deployed mobile restrooms throughout the city for residents impacted by Hurricane Helene. The facilities feature showers. Locations include the Shore Acres Recreation Center, Riviera Bay Park, Bartlett Park, Coquina Key Park and a mobile restroom at Sunset Park is “coming soon.”
The Tampa Bay Beach Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Tampa Bay Rays, Duke Energy and Pinellas County Economic Development to open three resource centers on the barrier islands. The facilities are open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and will provide power, recovery information, food and water. The centers are located in the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber building in St. Pete Beach, Madeira Beach City Hall and Big Claw Management in Indian Rocks Beach.
St. Petersburg-based Duke Energy Florida reported Tuesday afternoon that roughly 9,600 Pinellas County customers remain without power. However, that number does not include an estimated 15,000 unable to receive electricity due to their homes and businesses incurring “extensive damage.” Duke launched a dedicated webpage to provide power restoration information for the barrier islands. View the site here.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will open a Disaster Recover Center at the Largo Public Library on Wednesday to assist residents affected by Hurricane Helene. The outpost at 120 Central Park Drive will open at 1 p.m. October 2nd. Beginning October 3rd, the center will remain open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. from Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Staff will assist residents with applying for various programs and resources related to disaster recovery.
St. Petersburg-based Duke Energy Florida restored power to 95% of customers throughout the state 72 hours after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region. The company has deployed a mobile command center to Madeira Beach, which experienced devastating impacts from a historic storm surge. President Melissa Seixas warned that it “may take longer for customers who suffered extensive damage” to receive electricity.
The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan program will provide short-term, zero-interest capital funding to those affected by Hurricane Helene. The up to $50,000 loans help fill gaps between a disaster and longer-term recovery funding. For more information, visit the website here.
Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay is hosting a drive-through event to distribute hurricane relief kits Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the Lealman Exchange Community Center, 5175 45th St. N., St. Petersburg. 500 kits with cleanup buckets, MREs, water and tarps will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 12 p.m.
Pinellas County Schools opened for normal operations Monday morning, except for Gulf Beaches Elementary, Madeira Beach Fundamental and Disston Academy. The former two schools suffered severe damage from Hurricane Helene’s storm surge, while the latter is part of the district’s storm recovery plan. The three schools should open Oct. 2.
The City of St. Petersburg announced Sunday that parts of Central Avene would periodically close due to the construction of a luxury condominium tower downtown. Work on Art House, at 275 1st Ave. S, will occur from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday for approximately eight weeks. Central Avenue and sidewalks between 2nd and 3rd Streets will intermittently close, as will traffic lanes on 1st Avenue South and 3rd Street North.
Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside (formerly Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties) is accepting cleaning supplies and safety gear donations at its Pinellas, West Pasco and Hernando County offices. The donations will be distributed to residents that have been impacted by Hurricane Helene.
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