Hurricane Helene impacted the west coast of Florida on Sept. 26. It brought strong winds and heavy storm surge.
The hurricane passed through and has left damages that can take weeks and or months to repair.
Here is some information about each county and city’s plans for cleanup after Helene.
Images of Hurricane Helene impacting the Tampa Bay area
Video of Hurricane Helene
City of St. Petersburg
In a press release, the city said they will prioritize disaster recovery.
One debris reminder is don’t bag storm waste placed on the curb. The waste can be bagged if it’s in the trash containers.
All brush sites are open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. all week. Instructions can be found on the St.Pete Hurricane Helene Recovery Assistance page.
The brush sites are:
- 1000 62nd Ave.
- 7750 26th Ave.
- 2500 26th Ave.
- 4015 Dr. Martin Luther King St.
- 2453 20th Ave.
The city has some electrical safety tips after flooding:
- Before trying to re-enter your property, contact local utility companies to make sure it is safe
- Do not touch wet electrical equipment
- Turn off the power before entering the home
- Avoid extension cords while cleaning up
- Wait for approval before restoring power
For more information visit stpete.org.
Pinellas County
The county said, in a press release, they encourage residents to work with their insurance companies and document damages.
Zone collection plans will be in place with a collection schedule available in the upcoming week.
Go to Pinellas.gov to find out if you are located within incorporated Pinellas or city/municipality.
The county said to place storm waste away from the road. Move them near storm drains and separate them into piles.
A pile of house appliances, one for debris, and one for large tree limbs. They said waste that is bagged or not separated won’t be collected.
For small debris such as branches, twigs, and leaves place them in the regular trash bins to be collected.
To remove waste before the COunty’s Storm Debris Collection comes, residents can show their I.D. for proof of residency and drop it off at location sites.
The Sites include:
- From 12 p.m. through 7 p.m. 13600 Icot Boulevard, Clearwater
- From 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. East Lake Road and Keystone Road
- from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. 14800 118th Ave. North Largo
Residents with beach sand may dump clean sand back on the beach. The sand can not have stains, odor, and no debris.
Do not put sand in trash bins, or on the roads, and do not clear public roads of sand.
For help with cleanup, the Crisis Cleanup Hotline is (8440 956-1386.
Hillsborough County
Monday has started the collection of storm debris from neighborhoods most affected by Hurricane Helene.
In a press release, the county said residents in areas impacted by flooding should put their debris on the curb without blocking streets and storm drains.
They said to separate the waste into three categories. One for yard waste, one for damaged household appliances, and construction debris such as furniture and fences.
Paint and car batteries will not be accepted during the storm-related pickup.
The county said residents should put their debris on the burbs by Oct. 7.
Areas impacted by the flooding will have a special debris pickup which can be found here.
Residents not located on the map linked above can drop off debris at the five Community Collection Centers.
The centers will be open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. until Oct. 6.
The sites include:
- Alderman’s Ford Solid Waste- 9402 County Road 39, Plant City
- Hillsborough Heights Solid Waste Facility- 6209 County Road 579, Seffner
- Northwest County Solid Waste- 8001 W. Linebaugh Ave
- South County Solid Waste- 13000 U.S. 41, Gibsonton
- Wimauma Solid Waste- 15180 W. Lake Drive, Wimauma.
For more information visit hcfl.gov and sign up for HCFL Alerts.
Polk County
Below is information about storm cleanup provided by Polk County:
Polk County was largely spared from Hurricane Helene, but the storm did generate some debris. While no emergency declaration was issued, which would have triggered the county’s disaster debris removal operation, the county is prepared to assist residents in the following ways:
- Polk County’s Roads and Drainage Division will collect hurricane debris, including yard waste that does not meet residential collection guidelines (see guidelines below) and other materials. Waste must be hurricane related.
- Items must be curbside from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Items must be within 3 feet of the curb or edge of the street.
- Items must be at least 3 feet from other fixed objects.
- All yard waste must be bagged, bundled or containerized for collection.
- Up to four containers will be collected per week.
- Bundles, bags or containers of yard waste should weigh less than 30 pounds each.
- Branches should be no more than 3 feet in length and no more than 2 inches in diameter.
Roads and Drainage and Solid Waste Customer Service are working together to create a list of residents who have hurricane-related debris. If residents have hurricane debris that would not be collected in routine yard waste collection, they can call and request to be added to the hurricane debris pickup list.
“Our Roads and Drainage and Solid Waste customer service teams will be working diligently to serve our customers,” said John Bohde, Deputy County Manager. “We appreciate the community’s patience as we address hurricane debris collection.”
To be added to the hurricane debris pickup list, call Solid Waste Customer Service at (863) 284-4319.
Starting Oct. 1 Polk County said, in a press release, the county’s Utilities and Solid Waste customers can have both house and yard waste collected.
Residents can visit the Polk County waste page to learn about the new collection days.
Text “HELLO” to (888) 2999-POLK to receive non-emergency updates and alerts.
Citrus County
Debris pickup in Citrus County begins Friday, October 4. There’s more information at citrusbocc.com.
Safety Tips
Duke Energy of Florida has some safety tips for customers recovering after big storms.
Some safety information include:
- Stay away from downed powerlines and areas where they can be hidden in the floodwater
- Look for damage that may prevent power from being resorted
- Disconnect or turn off any nonessential electrical equipment
- Only operate a generator outside
- Do not wire the generator directly to a breaker fuse box
- Turn generators off if utility crews are in the area
- To report a power outage text “OUT” to 57801 or call 800-228-8485
Stormwater drains
With strong storm surges, storm drains get backed up with debris and can stop water from flowing throughout communities.
Over the weekend, stormwater crews have cleared out large amounts of debris.
The Tampa unit said it is critical to clear these systems out.
By clearing out the drains and ditches it allows the stormwater systems to operate at the best they can before the next storm hits.
If they are not cleared, the systems can become clogged and worsen flooding issues.
The Stormwater department cleared 84 tons of debris after Tropical Storm Debby and said they predict to collect more after Helene.
George Cox is the sewer operations team leader and said his team is working hard to ensure little debris will enter Old Tampa Bay.
“We make sure the storm drain system works 100% as possible so we are prepared for the next storm,” he said.
Cox said if the systems go unclean there can be structural flooding everywhere because the drains have to travel to multiple locations under the ground before making it to the bay.
He also said that citizens don’t understand how these systems work and want residents to be more educated on it.
“We like for citizens to understand how storm surges work versus normal rain events. When a storm surge comes in there is so much water force coming in the water in the pipe system doesn’t have the hydraulic pressure to push it out. So you would have standing water until the tide pulls out,” said Cox.
The company does not have a total on the amount of debris that has been collected already.
They said residents should not dispose of waste into the storm drains to prevent further system clogs.
For more information on recovery efforts in your area, contact local officials or visit your county’s website.
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