TAMPA, Fla. — Pinellas County, Florida, residents who live in mobile homes or low-lying areas, or who are planning on leaving the county ahead of Hurricane Ian, should do so today, county officials said Monday morning.
An evacuation order has not yet been issued for the county — one will likely come Tuesday, county Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins said. But Sheriff Bob Gualtieri put his directive in no uncertain terms:
“For all practical purposes, get out right now.”
Pinellas will face high winds and life-threatening storm surge, officials said. Perkins said the county could see 10 to 15 inches of rain.
Some long-term care facilities and hospitals have already begun evacuating residents and patients, Perkins said, and she urged others to do so today. Tourists should leave today as well, she said. The evacuation order will likely affect zones A, B and C — essentially all of coastal Pinellas County, including most or all of the beach towns and cities, as well as Safety Harbor, Oldsmar and Tarpon Springs.
Three public shelters — at Lealman Exchange Community Center, Ross Norton Recreation Center and Largo High School — will open at 6 p.m. Monday, Perkins said. More will open Tuesday morning.
Officials emphasized that even the county’s most storm-hardened residents should be taking Hurricane Ian very seriously.
“This could be the storm that we’ve hoped would never come to our shores,” St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said.
Those who refuse to evacuate, even in the face of a mandatory order, may not get help if they need it, Gualtieri said.
“When we issue that mandatory evacuation, that means that if you don’t and you call for help, we’re not coming because we’re not going to put our people in harm’s way and put them in peril because you didn’t do what we told you to do,” he said.
“If you don’t do it, you’re on your own.”
____
