Pinellas County Government: Pinellas: Board Of County Commissioners Rescinds Local State Of Emergency

Press release from the Pinellas County Government:

July 8, 2021

Board of County Commissioners rescinds local state of emergency

Residents are reminded hurricane season lasts until November 30

Latest Storm/Incident Developments

· Tropical Storm Elsa has moved out of the Tampa Bay area.

Pinellas County Response/Action

· Board of County Commissioners voted July 8 to rescind the local state of emergency for Tropical Storm Elsa.

· County government offices reopened July 8.

Advice & Information for Residents

· Residents are urged to document any and all Tropical Storm Elsa related damages.

o  Document damages to your home or public areas by visiting https://storm.pinellascounty.org.

o  If your home or business has flooded, BEFORE YOU CLEAN UP, watch the following video to understand how to document flood damage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAAtqAIKY2I. Visit https://www.floodsmart.gov/start to understand how to start a flood insurance claim.  

o  9-1-1 is for reporting life-threatening emergencies only - not damages or power outages.

· Sandbags 

o  For sandbags that have not come in contact with floodwaters, residents are encouraged to keep the sandbags and store them for reuse. The sand can be spread on lawns or used in landscape beds. If residents choose to dispose of sandbags, they are asked to place empty bags in their garbage for disposal and not in the recycling bin.  

o  Residents are asked to not dispose of full sandbags or sand with their regular curbside trash or yard debris. Sand does not burn and will not convert to energy in the county’s Waste-to-Energy Facility. Sand is abrasive and will damage equipment used to grind yard debris into mulch. 

o  For information on where to dispose of sand visit Pinellas Waste solid waste recycling A to Z Guide. 

This press release was produced by the Pinellas County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.