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1/2/25

Hurricane Milton –

IMPORTANT INFORMATION POST-STORM

Good morning, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater Partners –

We hope everyone stayed safe during the storm’s impact last night. Please see below for some important information as the day begins.  

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has re-opened access to Pinellas County, including the barrier islands, as of 8:45 a.m. Please use extreme caution if you must absolutely head out on the road. Be respectful of road crews and slow down at all work zones. Power still has not been restored to large parts of the county, which includes many traffic lights.

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport is expected to remain closed today as previously planned. Tampa International Airport remains closed with officials planning to announce a reopening plan later on Thursday, after a thorough inspection of the 3,300-acre campus and its buildings has been completed.

ACCOMMODATION PARTNERS: When you are able to access your property, please complete this survey to provide room availability for residents and visitors who have been displaced and require accommodations. We appreciate your consideration to help residents and guests in need, while filling vacant rooms.

FEMA may activate lodging assistance for our area and only hotels that are registered may participate. Pinellas County is asking hotels to register to participate in this Emergency Lodging Assistance Program. This program is administered by CLC Lodging on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA will provide direct payment to hotels who house pre-qualified individuals from disaster areas. For additional information on the FEMA CLC Program: Visit https://ela.corplodging.com/faq.php, email femahousing@clclodging.com or call (866) 545-9865.

1. ST. PETE PARTNERS: The City of St. Petersburg is responding to a water main break that will impact potable water services across the entire city. To address the issue and prevent further complications, the City has shut off potable (drinking) water service citywide. This temporary shutdown is expected to last until the necessary repairs can be completed. The City is issuing a boil water notice for all potable water used for drinking, cooking, and brushing teeth until further notice. Once the system is restored, further testing will be conducted to ensure water safety before lifting the boil water notice. 

The County Information Center (CIC) remains open 24 hours for preparedness questions and can be reached at (727) 464-4333. For Hurricane Milton recovery updates from Pinellas County, please subscribe to Alert Pinellas or visit the Pinellas County Emergency Information page. 

If your home or business received flood damage, photograph and list all damaged or lost items before you clean up or move any debris. Contact your insurance company to file a claim. Pinellas County is documenting any damages from Hurricane Helene to apply for potential state and federal emergency assistance. Businesses are asked to report damages at https://floridadisaster.biz/Respond/BusinessDamageAssessmentsSurvey. Residents should report damage to pinellas.gov/reportdamage.