Hurricane Helene impacted the west coast of Florida on Sept. 26th. It brought strong winds and heavy storm surges.
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.
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:
The city has some electrical safety tips after flooding:
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:
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:
For more information visit hcfl.gov and sign up for HCFL Alerts.
Polk County
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.
Safety tipsDuke Energy of Florida has some safety tips for customers recovering after big storms.
Some safety information include:
Stormwater drainsWith 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.
City of Tampa Mobility clearing out a storm drain Saturday Morning 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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