Mayor Welch Briefs St. Pete on Impacts from Hurricane Idalia

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Mayor Ken Welch Briefs City of St. Petersburg on Impacts from Hurricane Idalia

August 30,2023 - City of St. Petersburg teams are performing initial assessments on impacts from Hurricane Idalia. 

Mayor Kenneth T. Welch delivered a media brief on Wednesday, August 30, at 10 a.m. If you missed the briefing, you can watch it here: https://fb.watch/mL4X2ry7EG/

City staff are currently managing the impacts from Idalia on St. Petersburg—especially all those low lying areas and roads that are more prone to flooding and high water.

Morning Update, 11 a.m.:

  • Idalia was predominantly a water event - low lying areas are reporting significant flooding.

  • We have seen 4 to 5 feet of storm surge around St. Pete.

  • The Howard Frankland and Skyway Bridges are closed. Gandy Bridge is open. The beaches are closed.

  • The Snell Isle Bridge and 40th Avenue Bridge are both closed.

  • Some downed trees and several downed power lines have been reported through the Citizen Information Center.

What residents need to do now:

  • Please stay off the roads and avoid contact with flood waters if possible.

  • Please be respectful of no-wake zones. It can cause significant damage to residential homes.

  • If there is water in your home, stay out of any room where water has submerged electrical outlets or cords.

  • Please do not visit the St. Pete Pier or the St. Pete Municipal Marina until further assessment has been made.

What's next:

  • The highest impact for storm surge is anticipated this afternoon around 2 p.m.

  • Crews will make a more detailed assessment to look for damage, downed trees, and scattered debris.

  • For now, please place any vegetative debris in your trash bin until a further assessment can made.

  • City Brush Sites will open at Noon today for those that can safely travel, except for the 1000 62nd Ave. NE location, due to flooding - stpete.org/brushsites.

  • Stay alert and please wait to leave your home until the evacuation order has been lifted.

Sign up for Alert St. Pete for real-time updates (stpete.org/alertstpete) and follow the City of St. Petersburg social media channels - @StPeteFL.

Please report all storm-related issues (e.g., downed trees and flooding) to our Citizen Information Center - 727-893-7111 or stpete.org/service.