PINELLAS COUNTY — Pinellas County officials have announced that effective at 6 p.m. Monday, all residents in Zone A (including mobile home residents) will be under a mandatory evacuation order. Zones B and C will be under an effective evacuation order Tuesday morning at 7 a.m.
Also, all residential healthcare facilities will be under a mandatory evacuation order starting Monday.
“I can’t stress enough when we asked you to evacuate, you need to evacuate,” said Mayor Ken Welch at a press conference Monday afternoon. “First responders will not be able to rescue you after winds reach a certain level, and you’ll have to fend for yourselves.”
Mayor Welch told all residents to prepare now by making sure they have at least seven days of food and water if sheltering in place. Make sure you have any medications needed and know your evacuation level.
Check your evacuation zone one of these ways:
- pinellascounty.org
- Download the new Ready Pinellas app.
- If your property has a landline, call (727) 453-3150 and enter your 10-digit home phone number.
Special needs shelters will open Monday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. Residents with special needs who require transportation to a safe location until the storm threat passes can sign up by calling the County Information Center at 727-464-4333.
Three general populations shelters, including one allowing pets, will open Monday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m.:
- Ross Norton Recreation Center (1426 S, MLK Jr. Ave. Clearwater)
- Lealman Exchange (5175 45th St. N., St. Petersburg)
- Largo High School (410 Missouri Ave. N., Largo) – pets allowed
- Additional shelters will open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Click here for shelter locations.
- Visitors (tourists) and residents who are planning to leave the county are advised to do so today due to anticipated heavy traffic.
- Hospitals and long-term care facilities in Zones A, B, and C are advised to begin evacuations today.
- Residents who are deaf or hard of hearing can contact the County Information Center via online chat.
Advice & information for residents
- Stay at a hotel or with family/friends in a non-evacuation zone.
- Look out for the elderly and other vulnerable neighbors. If you are not in an evacuation zone, invite friends or family who are to stay with you.
Before leaving home:
- Gather valuables and important papers.
- Take pictures of each room inside your house and of any valuable items. This will help with an insurance claim if your house suffers damage.
- Turn off all utilities (water, electricity, gas) at main switches.
- Lock windows and doors, use protective coverings if available.
- Bring in outdoor items that may become projectiles in high winds.
- Fill gas tanks.
- Advise friends or relatives of where you are going.
- Monitor the travel time to your destination to leave plenty of time to arrive before the storm impacts.
- Protect yourself and others from COVID-19 by wearing a mask, carrying cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer when practical, and avoiding crowded locations when possible.
- Monitor local news media, National Weather Service, pinellascounty.org, Facebook @PinellasCountyNews, and Twitter @PinellasCoNews; search hashtags #Huricaneian or #GetReadyPinellas.
- Click here to register for emergency alerts
- Don’t wait! Emergency responders will stay off the roads and not be able to respond to most calls once sustained winds have reached 40 mph.
