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Nicole impacts Hillsborough County
Aaron Mesmer reports
TAMPA, Fla. - The City of Tampa was prepared for the worst of Tropical Storm Nicole but was able to dodge the major brunt of the storm, Mayor Jane Castor said Thursday.
Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a handful of down trees and power lines. At one point, the storm knocked out power to about 20,000 people.
Castor said that's a relatively low number considering Tampa Electric Company has about 900,000 customers.
The mayor said the city was able to quickly ramp up and get ready for the storm, while relying on lessons learned from previous storms.
"We have been very fortunate," Castor said. "We know that we haven't taken that direct hit for 100 years, but we continue to prepare and learn lessons from other areas that have suffered direct is, and then we incorporate those best practices into not only our response to the storm, but our preparation, which is equally, if not, more important."
The city also opened a shelter that about 35 people there. Officials planned to close it by the end of the day.