Following Hurricane Irma, Tampa Bay continues its cleanup during the aftermath of the storm. Houses are damaged, neighborhoods have flooded and for many, it will take a lot of time and effort to get things back to normal. This weekend, representatives will be in several Tampa Bay counties assisting residents hoping to receive damage assistance related to Hurricane Irma.
Pinellas County:
- From 10am to 12pm on Friday, 9/22, The Salvation Army in Tarpon Springs will hold a Hurricane Irma mobile food pantry for fresh foods and disaster-related items in order to help impacted families expedite their recovery after Irma.
Pinellas County government is bringing its residents post-Hurricane Irma resources even closer to home. This week, the Pinellas County Citizen Information Center is going on the road after two weeks of offering live phone assistance to more than 55,000 callers.
County staff will be on hand at the below locations to provide information on programs and assistance available to storm survivors (including FEMA application contacts and checklists); consumer protection tips; post-storm resources in various languages, as well as answer citizen questions. Spanish-speaking County staff will also be available. The events are free and open to the public.
- Thursday, Sept. 21, 8:30-11:30 a.m.: Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center (4255 56th Ave. N., St. Petersburg)
- Thursday, Sept. 21, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.: Hispanic Outreach Center (612 Franklin St., Clearwater)
- Thursday, Sept. 21, 12-3 p.m.: East Lake Community Library (4125 E Lake Rd. S., Palm Harbor)
- Friday, Sept. 22, 8-11 a.m.: The Centre of Palm Harbor (1500 16th St., Palm Harbor)
Pinellas County is also distributing printed materials and information at public library branches and fire stations, as well as to Pinellas County Health Care clients at Florida Department of Health in Pinellas locations. A Business Recovery Center has also been set up at Pinellas County Economic Development at the SPC EpiCenter (13805 58th St N, Suite 1-200), for businesses seeking post-storm loan assistance.
The initiative comes on the heels of an extended Emergency Operations Center activation due to Hurricane Irma's track over Pinellas County last week. For weeks, county employees and volunteers have staffed a Citizen Information Center to answer citizen questions before and after the storm.
Residents can access resources and updates on Irma recovery efforts 24/7 by checking local media outlets, the county website www.pinellascounty.org and county social media accounts.
Manatee County:
FEMA representatives will be in Manatee County this week and early next to assist Manatee County residents hoping to receive damage assistance related to Hurricane Irma.
- Palmetto Library, 923 6th Street W., Thurs., Sept. 21 from noon to 8 p.m.
- South Manatee Library, 6081 26th Street W., Fri., Sept. 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sat., Sept. 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Polk County:
On Thursday, September 21, Central Florida Representatives will host a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recovery assistance event, where local FEMA coordinators will be available to answer aid-related questions and assist constituents in need of disaster relief due to the effects of Hurricane Irma. The event is open to the general public.
- Polk State College, Clear Springs Advanced Technology Center, 310 Technology Drive, Bartow, FL 33830. Thursday, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Members of the media are encouraged to RSVP by emailing Oriana Pina (Oriana.pina@mail.house.gov). Reservations are not necessary.
