Pinellas County leaders anticipating 'life-threatening' storm surge from Helene

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In Pinellas County, leaders are bracing for what they say could be unprecedented storm surge.

County commissioners declared a State of Local Emergency Tuesday morning. Mandatory evacuations for residential health care facilities in Zone A started Tuesday afternoon. This includes two hospitals, 14 nursing homes and 10 assisted living facilities.

County leaders said they’re monitoring the next few storm advisories and then will make a decision on whether to issue more evacuation orders and whether to open shelters.

MORE: Tropical Storm Helene: Pinellas County updates & information

They’re predicting three to six inches of rain, 60 mph winds and think the higher surge and higher tides will stick around for 24 to 36 hours. Cathie Perkins, the director of Pinellas County Emergency Management, said if you flooded during Idalia or Eta, you’re probably going to flood again during Helene. 

Perkins said this storm is much larger than Idalia, where we saw about four feet of storm surge and more than 1,500 homes were flooded.

"This is not going to be like the storm surge we saw for Eta and Idalia," she said. "This is forecast to be five to eight feet. For Idalia, we experienced, I think, 4.1 feet and 4.2 feet in some areas of our county. We're talking about five to eight feet of storm surge. This is life-threatening storm surge."

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"We want people to evacuate when we issue those orders, and the problem is, if you wait right, and you wait and that water starts coming in, and we saw this during Idalia and Eta, and fire and police personnel were able to go out there and help people. This is not going to be the case. If we have five feet of water, they're not going to be able to get out there to people," she said.

If you’re a barrier island resident or business owner, check with your local leaders for free emergency access permit. It’s a fast pass to get back on the islands after an evacuation order is lifted if the county evacuates that area.  

Perkins said crews are still working on beach renourishment efforts. The entire Pinellas coastline took a hit after storms last year, including Idalia.

READ: Pinellas County man becomes pro at helping others harden their homes ahead of big storms

"Public Works has done a tremendous job in trying to get these beaches reinforced as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we know that there's areas that are not completely finished, in particular Sunset Beach and Treasure Island. And I always like to tell people that those barrier islands and that sand, that's your first line of defense when storm surge is coming in," she said.

"So, people that may have been protected before by those dunes being there aren't going to have that level protection there. So, even if we were going to get a storm with four feet of storm surge, they could see more flooding than they did before because they don't have that protection in place. But definitely with the 5 to 8ft of flooding, it is a concern for us," Perkins said. 

Crews have been out across the county clearing ditches and drains, pumping down lakes and other bodies of water and getting ready for the storm. County leaders, though, say with all the recent rain, the ground is already saturated, and with the higher tides sticking around, they’re concerned the water may not drain. 

MORE: Tropical Storm Helene prompts evacuations in Bay Area

"Our public works crews have been very active with going out and clearing out storm drains, and I would recommend if you live in an area and you've got a storm drain near you, and you can go out, just make sure there's not a bunch of leaves or debris on it," Perkins said "Just help make sure that we're keeping that storm water system to be able to flow out. The challenge is going to be if we do see those higher tides for 24 to 36 hours, that water is not going to be able to drain out. So, we've got to do everything we can."

PSTA also offers free rides to shelters if shelters open. Pinellas County Schools are closed Wednesday and Thursday. All Pinellas County government departments will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday and remain closed Thursday. County parks will be closed Wednesday and Thursday. John Chestnut Sr. Park will be open only for sandbag distribution from 7 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.

The Animal Shelter will be closed Wednesday and Thursday. The Utilities department’s walk-in payment center will be closed Wednesday through Friday, and all late payment fees will be paused through the weekend. 

READ: Power companies staged in Tampa Bay area ahead of Helene impacts

The Property Appraiser’s Office will close at noon on Wednesday and remain closed on Thursday. The Tax Collector’s Office will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. The Clerk’s Office, Courts, State Attorney and Public Defender’s Office will be open on Wednesday. All will be closed on Thursday. 

Sandbag sites will be open across the county starting again on Wednesday.

You can sign up for text and email alerts on the county’s website. The county’s information center is open 24/7 for any questions. You can call (727) 464-4333 or chat at http://bit.ly/PinellasChat.

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