Politics

Terrifying moments caught on video showed Hurricane Helene’s powerful and deadly storm surge as it crashed into a home in Pinellas County last week.

DUNEDIN — “We are heartbroken for what many of you are going through,” Mayor Julie Ward Bujalski said in an update on Hurricane Helene on YouTube. The mayor delivered the statement alongside city leaders and administration Sept. 29 in the wake of the storm that devastated coastal Pinellas County.

Pinellas County deputies reported another death from Hurricane Helene Wednesday, bringing the current local death toll to 12.

Pinellas County leaders say they are working to find other solutions to help commercial haulers after closing the county's dump site to storm debris on Tuesday.

Storm debris is piling up in areas hit hard by Hurricane Helene in Pinellas County as private haulers and residents are being turned away from county landfills.

TAMPA, Fla. — Election Day is drawing closer. But Bay area residents will have time before then to voice their picks for president, as well as other local and national figures and important statewide amendments. Some voters can cast their ballots early to avoid long lines at the polls.

Just days after Category Four Hurricane Helene devastated beach communities on Florida’s west coast with 10ft. storm surges and dozens of deaths, two local men pleaded with Pinellas County Commissioners during an emergency meeting on Tuesday to keep the hard-hit islands and their famous beaches closed to the public until locals could recover.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Several mobile home parks around Pinellas County were destroyed by flooding from the storm surge during Hurricane Helene. A lot of residents lost everything inside their homes, and some aren’t sure if they’ll be able to rebuild or stay in their mobile home parks. Pinewood Village Mobile Home Park in St. Petersburg was one of the mobile home parks that flooded.

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — "Making progress" — That was part of the sentiment Gov. Ron DeSantis imparted as he visited Madeira Beach Wednesday morning. Pinellas County and its barrier islands were among places most affected by Hurricane Helene's impacts. Despite the amount of damage to the area, DeSantis...

SAFETY HARBOR — The city’s Fire Marshal Dick Brock Memorial Pier didn’t survive Hurricane Helene. “The Safety Harbor Pier is completely gone,” Marcus Afzali posted on the Safety Harbor Strong page on Facebook on Sept. 27. Within two days, his “Sad News” post received almost 2,000 “likes” and 400 comments.