Hurricane Milton's devastation in Pinellas County: 'Never been battered like that'

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hurricane Milton brought strong winds and heavy rain to Pinellas County, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene smashed the state’s same coast.

Access to Pinellas County mainland and barrier islands was reopened on Thursday morning. But officials warned that there are a lot of hazards on the road, including downed power lines, trees and inoperable traffic lights.

County officials said about 70 percent of the county lost power, totaling hundreds of thousands of customers, as the storm moved through the area.

Water rescues underway in Pinellas County

Pinellas County officials began rescuing people from flooded streets after Hurricane Milton on Thursday morning.

The county has lifted the mandatory evacuation order of zones A, B, C and mobile homes issued before Hurricane Milton.

Pinellas County closed all public schools and government offices through Friday, Oct. 11. St-Pete Clearwater International Airport also suspended operations.

Despite avoiding the worst storm surge because the storm made landfall to the south near Siesta Key, the county is seeing extensive damage as a result of wind and flooding.

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According to Pinellas County's Department of Emergency Management, parts of St. Petersburg got over 18 inches of rain and 101 mph wind gusts.

St. Pete Mayor joins GoodDay to discuss Hurricane Milton damage

FOX 13 anchors Russell Rhodes and Laura Moody interview Mayor Ken Welch to discuss the impact of Hurricane Milton on St. Petersburg.

The City of St. Petersburg has shut off potable (drinking) water citywide due to a water main break.

City crews were out at daybreak on Thursday to inspect and re-energize the Northeast and Southwest Sewer Plants. Sewer services are back online for both of the impacted areas.

Tropicana Field roof rips off in Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton produced winds so strong that they blew a portion of the roof off of Tropicana Field.

Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, was not exempt from Hurricane Milton's path. The storm's heavy winds ripped the roof off the covered baseball field. A spokesperson for Tropicana Field confirmed to FOX 13 that "no first responders were being staged at the Trop and the essential personnel that were there are all accounted for and safe."

"Almost been here 40 years, and it's never been battered like that. I think that's an iconic image that kinda shows the power of this storm on the heels of Helene," said St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch.

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A construction crane fell at 400 Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg came tumbling down as Hurricane Milton lashed the city.

A construction crane fell at 400 Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg. No injuries were reported.

According to Welch, it takes seven days for a developer to take a crane down and the storm developed much quicker than that.

"It went from a tropical storm to a Cat 5 hurricane practically overnight. So they didn't have time to take it down," explained Welch.

Extreme localized flooding was reported between 22nd Ave. and 58th St. N and Central Ave. and 58th St. N, according to officials.

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There are pockets of flooding and downed power lines and trees in the roads. There are photos from the Riviera Bay, Edgemoor area and the intersection of 45 AVE S and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr St. S. (Courtesy: St. Pete Police)