If you go to tampa bay for the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Buccaneerslucky you. If you’re planning to spend a few extra days at the nearby beaches between Clearwater and St. Pete Beach, Hurricane Helene didn’t bring you such luck.
Pinellas County’s beach communities, right on the Gulf Coast, are closed for business. All access is blocked and residents who attempt to clean up are asked to leave for a week.
Hurricane Helene destroyed parts of the infrastructure for bridges, roads, sewer, water and electricity on all of Pinellas County’s barrier islands, so there is no water, sewer or electricity.
Multiple reporters from CBS News Philadelphia have spoken to Eagles fans who had to make sudden changes to their travel plans because of Helene, including Craig Chenosky of the Green Legion, who arranges trips for Birds fans to attend away games.
Chenosky and others had to move from their Clearwater Beach residence before Helene arrived.
“The alarm started sounding around 2:30, it was a real evacuation,” Chenosky told Kerri Corrado. “They weren’t messing around.”
He added that the Green Legion was lucky to find another hotel in Tampa and got there via Uber.
In addition to the utility and infrastructure issues, barrier island roads are covered in up to a foot of silt and sand, with debris everywhere ranging from beach chairs to propane tanks to grounded boats.
Yes, boats. Many people had not tied up their boats before the storm and now they are high and dry in the wharves and on the roads.
A big draw is the soft, cool sand of these beaches, but that has all been washed away. In many places there is no beach anymore, just water lapping against the sea wall where the beach used to be.
The bottom line is that you should call ahead if you plan to stay at a hotel, vacation rental, or resort on the Gulf Coast beaches because you may need to put plan B in motion.
This was the worst storm surge for the Tampa/St. Petersburg area in more than 100 years with 1.5 to 2.5 meters of water flooding buildings and houses.
Enjoy the Florida weather if you travel there soon, and have a great time at the game if you go. Go Eagles!
