Pinellas County evacuees seek refuge in Lakeland
LAKELAND, Fla. - Evacuees from Pinellas County are heeding the storm surge warnings caused by Hurricane Helene and are seeking refuge in Polk County.
A hotel near I-4 in Lakeland was booked on Thursday morning with many residents who traveled with their four-legged companions from the mandatory evacuation Zone A in Pinellas County which is anticipated to get five to eight feet of storm surge.
"The Gulf Coast empties into Long Bayou which comes up into the Seminole Canal which comes into our backyard," said Janice Reck. "I just want to give kudos to the news teams and the weather channels because they do make sure people know take this seriously," said. "If you're in Zone A, get out so I got out. I know some people like to ride it out but I didn't want to take that chance."
Hurricane Helene tracker: Timeline of when to expect storm surge, winds, rain
Another resident, Collin Dieck, says he lives right on the water in Clearwater. He moved down to Florida recently from Minnesota, so this is his first hurricane experience. After talking with the locals, he decided to pack his bags and head to safety with his seven-month-old dog, Badger.
"I had previous flood experience and at this point frankly, the best-case scenario is just to move a few miles east, right? So that's what we did and here we are in Lakeland so we're safe and happy," said Dieck.
The residents say they'll continue to ride out Hurricane Helene in Lakeland until it's safe for them to return to their homes.
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