https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-ian-donations.
Effective 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29: Mandatory evacuation orders for Pinellas County lifted for all evacuation zones, mobile home communities and residential health care facilities.
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Message provided by Pinellas County Economic Development
Latest incident developments
- Residents who evacuated due to the hurricane threat may return home using caution.
- County crews and first responders are proactively conducting damage assessments and response as needed.
- Traffic intersections with inoperable traffic lights should be treated like a four-way stop.
- Hazardous conditions may still exist. Downed trees and power lines have been reported across the county. Plan for extra travel time as operations return to normal and be mindful of crews on the road.
- Report road and traffic issues on storm.pinellascounty.org using the See Click Fix link, and any residential damage using the “Report Damages to Your Home” link.
Storm impacts
- Approximately 185,500 Duke customers have reported power outages as of today at 7 a.m.
- All drinking water services to Pinellas County Utilities customers remain functional and no boil water notices have been issued.
- A number of downed utility/electric wires and trees have been reported affecting some roads, utility/power lines and property.
Pinellas County response/action
- Public Works and other County crews are assessing county roads and intersections.
- The County Information Center will remain open until 5 p.m. Call 727-464-4333.
- Residents who are deaf or hard of hearing can contact the County Information Center via online chat at www.bit.ly/PinellasChat.
- Pinellas County Animal Services will reopen Monday, Oct. 3.
Advice & Information for Residents
- Always assume any downed power lines are live. Do not touch them. Report them immediately.
- If an area is barricaded, there is a reason. Find an alternate route.
- Never drive, walk or swim through standing flood water.
- If your home or business has flooded, before you clean up, watch the following video to understand how to document flood damage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAAtqAIKY2I.
- Visit https://www.floodsmart.gov/start to understand how to start a flood insurance claim.
- Get updates on Hurricane Ian recovery efforts by visiting www.pinellascounty.org
- Keep generators in well-ventilated locations outside, away from all doors, windows and vent openings. Do not operate during high winds and rain.
- Turn off generators and let them cool down before refueling. Never refuel a generator while it is hot.
- Store fuel for the generator in a container that is intended for the purpose and is correctly labeled as such. Store the containers outside of living areas.
- Be wary of solicitations for charitable contributions on behalf of Hurricane Ian victims in Florida or elsewhere.
- To check whether a charitable organization is properly registered, visit Check-A-Charity, a resource that provides the information reported to the department.