Pinellas Times

General

·      Continue to shelter in place. Breaks in the weather do not mean the storm has passed. The County will announce when shelter in place and evacuation orders are lifted.

·      There are about 4,500 residents in Pinellas County public shelters.

·      Our area could experience wind speeds up to 110 miles per hour, storm surge and heavy rain through Thursday morning. The risk of flash flooding in Pinellas County remains high. Prolonged bad weather conditions could weaken trees, carports, fences, and above-ground pools.

·      As the storm moves slowly across Florida, conditions in Pinellas County are expected to worsen throughout the day, even if the storm remains to the south.

·      County Information Center remains open 24 hours a day. 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.

Outages

·      Outages affecting more than 12,000 properties have been reported, according to Duke Energy’s website.

Advice & Information for Residents

·      Only call 911 in the case of a police, medical or fire emergency.

·      Do not walk in flood water. It only takes six inches of fast-flowing water to sweep you off your feet, and one foot of flood water can carry away cars.

·      If your home experiences flooding, after the storm, take photos of your property for insurance. After the storm, begin taking steps to reduce flood damage to your home such as cleaning or removing wet items to reduce mold and contact with chemicals or sewage. 

·      Do not set objects of any type on the stove while the power is out.

·      Keep generators in well-ventilated locations outside, away from all doors, windows and vent openings. Do not operate during high winds and rain.

·      Never use a generator in an attached garage, even with the door open.

·      Place generators so the exhaust fumes can’t enter the home through windows, doors or other openings in the building. 

·      Do not connect your portable generator to your home’s circuits.

·      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.

·      Get updates on Hurricane Ian recovery efforts by visiting www.pinellascounty.org, Facebook @PinellasCountyNews and Twitter.

Original source can be found here.