‘Significant Flooding’ Expected in Pinellas County as Officials Urge Preparations

PINELLAS COUNTY (FLV) – Pinellas County officials provided an update on Hurricane Ian on Monday morning, advising residents to prepare and be ready in case of an evacuation.

“It’s a lot of uncertainty to know exactly where it’s going to be so it’s important to prepare for the worst,” said Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins.

Perkins says the areas they would look to evacuate would be Level A, Level B, and Level C.

“I need everyone, everyone, to check their evacuation zone – we updated our zones this year in 2022… it changed for a significant amount of people in the county,” Perkins said.

Perkins says they anticipate there will be “significant flooding” – about 10 to 15 inches of rain and advise people in storm surge areas to prepare to evacuate. The county also urged long-term care facilities to begin evacuating Monday.

Officials say the storm may potentially sit on top of Pinellas County for 47 hours.

General population shelters will open Monday night at 6 p.m. in Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Largo with additional shelters opening Tuesday morning.

Floridians are advised to top off gas tanks, stock up on non-perishable foods, water, medications and items ready whether you are evacuating or sheltering in place.

Pinellas County Sheriff Gualtieri said mandatory evacuations will occur but have not been announced as of yet.

“We really, really encourage everyone to put into motion now the plans that they have,” Gualtieri said.

Sheriff Gualtieri said during a mandatory evacuation order, there will reach a point where first responders will come off the street.

To sign up for emergency alerts in Pinellas County, click here.

Visit Storm.pinellascounty.org for updates.