ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Officials with the City of St. Petersburg are urging residents to prepare for the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene.
Mayor Ken Welch held a press conference on Tuesday evening. He urged residents to prepare.
"The current forecast calls for a higher storm surge than Tampa Bay has experienced in recent history, higher storm surge impacting the county for a longer period of time than during Hurricane Idalia. We are expecting between 5-8 feet of storm surge."
City buildings will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 25, and Thursday, Sept. 26.
The city has self-service sandbag locations and full-service locations.
Locations will be open on Wednesday starting at 7 a.m. until weather allows.
On Tuesday afternoon, the line reached the road at Lake Maggiore Park Shelter Area. People showed up to receive a maximum of 10 sandbags per household.
Residents must show proof of residence like a driver's license.
"This is my first hurricane. I moved here a year ago, and I'm just trying to be prepared," said Emma VanWinkle.
Full-service sandbag locations include Lake Maggiore Park Shelter Area, Northeast Park East Baseball Field Parking Lot, and Northwest Swimming Pool Parking Lot.
Mayor Welch also encourages residents to reduce their water usage.
"Do your laundry, run the dishwasher, etc. today and Wednesday and we're asking you to reduce water use on Thursday and Friday until after the storm passes," said Mayor Welch.
The County Information Center (CIC) is open 24 hours for preparedness questions. Call (727) 464-4333.
Residents who want to stay informed may sign up for Alert Pinellas and download the Ready Pinellas App in the app store.
To sign up for Alert Pinellas, click here
For more information on the Ready Pinellas Emergency Planning App, click here
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
