Flooding Likely In Pasco, Officials Say

PASCO COUNTY, FL — “Be prepared.”

That’s the message from Pasco County Emergency Operations Center director Kevin Guthrie ahead of tropical storm conditions arriving in the region Monday.

“We are going to flood in parts of Pasco County,” Guthrie said in a Sunday statement.

That statement was prompted by the impending arrival of tropical storm conditions in the Tampa Bay area on Monday. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center have issued a tropical storm warning for the entire region as a tropical depression makes its way north from the southern Gulf of Mexico.

See Also:

• Tropical Storm Warning Issued For Tampa Bay

As of Sunday morning, the storm was located about 550 miles southwest of Tampa. While the storm had only grown to tropical depression strength, with maximum sustained winds of about 35 mph, forecasters anticipate strengthening. Should it become a tropical storm it will be called Colin.

Guthrie’s agency was on partial activation Sunday. A full activation of the county’s emergency operations center is planned for 6 a.m. Monday. The area could begin seeing the storm’s effects by 7 a.m., the county wrote in an email to media.

To help residents prepare, the county has opened several sandbag locations. It gave out 7,500 sandbags on Saturday. Residents who need sandbags will find them at the following locations between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until further notice:

• West Pasco Government Center, 7356 State St., New Port Richey
• J.W. Mitchell Park, 4025 Little Road, New Port Richey
• Veterans Memorial Park, 14333 Hicks Road, Hudson
• C-Barn, 30906 Warder Road, San Antonio
• Land O’ Lakes Recreation Center, 3032 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes
• Fire Station No. 2, 6907 Dairy Road, Zephyrhills
• Dade City Police Department, 38042 Pasco Ave., Dade City

Sand bags will be provided at these locations with a limit per 20 bags per Pasco County resident. While bags will be provided, residents are asked to bring their own shovels.

The City of New Port Richey will also open a sand bag location for its residents at 6240 Pine Hill Road on Saturday. That self-serve location will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As of Sunday, the county has not announced plans to open its hurricane shelters. The county said it is monitoring the situation and will do so if the need arises.

Patch file photo