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Hernando County Residents Eligible For FEMA Federal Individual Assistance

Homeowners and renters in Hernando County who were affected by Hurricane Helene are encouraged to apply for federal disaster assistance to help jump-start their recovery. It’s as easy as a 20-minute phone call or a click online. If affected by both Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Helene, when registering for assistance and asked the question about the date of when the damages occurred, homeowners should provide the date of their most recently sustained damages.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. made the federal assistance available Saturday, September 28, 2024 when he approved a Major Disaster Declaration request from the state of Florida to help with costs associated with impacts from Hurricane Helene.

How to Apply with FEMA Visit DisasterAssistance.gov Call FEMA directly at 800-621-3362 (FEMA) FEMA works with each household on a case-by-case basis. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. For an accessible video on three ways to apply for FEMA assistance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU7wzRjByhI

Types of FEMA Assistance Available FEMA is offering a wide variety of help to people affected by the recent hurricanes. Every homeowner and renter who suffered damage is encouraged to apply.

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Money provided by FEMA does not have to be repaid and may include: Serious Needs Assistance: Money for lifesaving and life-sustaining items, including water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, breastfeeding supplies, diapers, consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, personal hygiene items and fuel for transportation. Displacement Assistance: Money to help with housing needs if you cannot return to your home because of the disaster. The money can be used to stay in a hotel, with family and friends or other options while you look for a rental unit. Home Repair or Replacement: Money to help you repair or replace your home damaged by the disaster. The money can also help with pre-existing damage to parts of your home where the disaster caused further damage. Rental Assistance: Money you can use to rent housing if you are displaced from your home because of the disaster. Personal Property: Money to help you repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a personal or family computer damaged by the disaster. This can also include money for books, uniforms, tools, medical equipment, and other items required for school or work, including self-employment. Childcare: Money to help you pay for increased or childcare expenses caused by the disaster. Transportation: Money to help you repair or replace a vehicle damaged by the disaster when you don’t have another vehicle you can use. Moving and Storage Expenses: Money to help you move and store personal property from your home to prevent additional damage.

Mobile personal hygiene care trailer Beginning Sunday, Sept. 29, a mobile personal hygiene care trailer is available on Hernando Beach at 4054 Shoal Line Blvd, providing showers, restrooms and laundry services. For reference, this is where the old R Beach restaurant was located. You must bring your own soap, towels, laundry detergent, etc.

Donations List The United Way is asking for the following items to be donated via Hernando public schools through Oct. 11. Items will be collected at each school through Oct. 11 and delivered to the United Way.

Non perishable food items Toiletries Garbage Bags Bleach, Vinegar and any cleaning supplies Putty Knives Mold Removal/Prevention (Simple Green) Cleaning/ Work Gloves Gatorade

Hernando County Park Closures

Hernando County Parks and Recreation Temporarily Closing Parks Due to Hurricane Helene Damage Effective Friday, September 27, 2024, due to Hurricane Helene and the damages that the Hernando County Parks sustained, County staff and emergency personnel are utilizing this temporary closure time to assess damage, conduct physical inspections, and determine necessary repairs. The following parks are temporarily closed until further notice: • Alfred A. McKethan Pine Island Park, 10800 Pine Island Drive, Spring Hill, FL 34607 • Rogers Park, 7244 Shoal Line Boulevard, Spring Hill, FL 34607 • Bayport Park, 4140 Cortez Boulevard, Spring Hill, FL 34607 • Jenkin’s Creek Park, 6401 Shoal Line Boulevard, Spring Hill, FL 34607 • Linda Pedersen Park, 6400 Shoal Line Boulevard, Spring Hill, FL 34607 • Hernando Beach Boat Ramp has partial ramp closures but can still facilitate vessel access on ramps unobstructed. Visit the Hernando County Emergency Management website at www.HernandoCounty.us/EM for all storm-related notices.

Emergency Building Permits Effective Friday, September 27, 2024, emergency building permit forms will be available on the Hernando County Government website by visiting www.HernandoCounty.us. Applications must be complete and notarized, if applicable. Please submit completed applications for emergency permitting due to Hurricane Helene using the following email: EmergencyPermits@HernandoCounty.us On the website you will find the following information: • Emergency Building Permit Application • Electric Meter Request (Owner) • Electric Meter Request (Contractor) • Hernando County Storm Damage Guidelines

Family Resource Center Pick up supplies, information, resources and meals at the Family Resource Center at the Weeki Wachee Area Club, open daily throughout the week, 9 am – 5 pm. The address is 7442 Shoal Line Blvd, Spring Hill, FL 34607. The Family Resource Center is hosted by Health and Human Services, United Way of Hernando County, Red Cross of Central Florida and the Florida Department of Health.

Water and ready-made meals Fire Station 6 in Hernando Beach has water and ready-made meals / MRES available as a self-serving station.

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly 17,000 people are without power in Hernando County as utility crews scramble to restore electricity in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Deputies had shut down Shoal Line Boulevard because of the storm surge and re-opened it Friday afternoon. Residents returned to get a first look at the devastation in Hernando Beach.

“We tried putting everything up on the pool table,” said Ralph Salgado, Hernando Beach Resident.

Ralph and Yvonne Salgado chose to ride out Hurricane Helene from their home.

“It was crazy just the wind pounding, pounding, pounding, and then the title surge came in so quick,” Salgado said. “It was like out of nowhere.”

Water rose three feet inside overnight. Their fridge toppled over, furniture scattered, but the Salgado’s and their pets are alive. They say everything else can be replaced.

“Our living space is all upstairs so we actually had guest over,” said Salgado. “They live across the street and they came over our house. They left everything their house their car everything.”

Down the street, a home going up in flames early Friday morning. It left the garages charred and the insulation and their belongings melted.

The winds so powerful it swept more than a dozen boats onto land on Shoal Line Boulevard and near homes. These are the sights as neighbors returned: debris, damaged garage doors and water lines.

“This is the worst we’ve seen, and we’ve been here 10 years,” Salgado said.

Hernando County said fire rescue crews rescued 13 people overnight and 15 more Friday morning with the help of the national guard because of the devastating storm surge.

“Everyone in this area has gotten some sort of damage,” Salgado said.

Hernando County is opening a Family Resource Center at the Weeki Wachee Area Club (7442 Shoal Line Blvd, Spring Hill, FL 34607). This center will be open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning Saturday, Sept. 28 until further notice.

The center will be stocked with cleaning supplies and resources for residents and businesses in Hernando County. Nonperishable food, water, survivor assistance, toiletries, cleaning supplies, will be available to residents. They can also apply for available programs for assistance.

For questions, call the Public Information Center at 352-754-4083.

With 8 to 12 feet of storm surge predicted for coastal areas of Hernando County, area officials are urging residents to get out now.

Mandatory evacuations in zones A, B and C (areas west of US 19, low-lying areas and manufactured homes) began at 8 a.m. this morning.

In Wednesday evening’s Emergency Operation Center update on Hurricane Helene, Commissioner Brian Hawkins emphasized that the forecast of 8-12 feet of storm surge is “the most significant forecast that we’ve come up against and it could continue to go up.”

“I know you guys have seen me out in the beaches, in the coastal communities during the last couple of storms in the last couple of years, this is not one of those storms. This is going to be significant catastrophic damage because of the water, because of the surge and you need to have a plan and you need to get out now.”

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“We’re talking about single-story homes that could be completely covered with water if the predictions are true.”

David DeCarlo, EOC director added, “Twelve feet of storm surge will put water on US 19.”

The public shelter at West Hernando Middle School (14325 Ken Austin Parkway) is open, but space is limited. For those who bring their pets, the Emergency Director urges people to bring all necessary supplies. Citizens are advised to take shelter with family or friends if possible.

The storm is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico this evening, and Hernando County will begin to feel the effects on Thursday morning and into the afternoon. It will most likely make landfall in the Big Bend area on Thursday evening as a category 4.

Hernando County can expect 8-12 feet of storm surge as Helene passes through the Gulf of Mexico along our coastline. The storm surge will begin to come in tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon, depending on the size, strength and speed of the storm.

Sandbag locations will be open tomorrow, weather permitting, starting at 8 am. Sandbags are available at various locations around the county, including Linda Pedersen Park, Anderson Snow Park, Ridge Manor Community Center, and Spring Lake Methodist Church.

David Lambert, general manager of Withlacoochee River Electric, said that there are crews in the area from outside the state of Florida now stationed in Hernando County and throughout their five-county service area to respond to this storm. He said that if you are evacuating, make sure to turn off the breakers in your home beforehand. He added safety reminders to stay away from downed power lines and to not run generators inside the home.

You can report an outage to Withlacoochee Electric here: https://withlacoochee.smarthub.coop/ui/#/login

Duke Energy has assembled 8000 workers and crews from their midwest operations in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. They are staging at at Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg College Tarpon Springs, The Villages and Suwannee Valley Farmer’s Market.

Duke urges residents to follow these safety rules:

To report a power outage, text OUT to 57801, call 800.228.8485 or report online or through the mobile app. For more safety tips, please visit duke-energy.com/StormTips.

Fire Chief Paul Hasenmeier said that Fire and EMS services are currently operational and they are handling routine emergencies. They are adding staff tonight and into tomorrow morning to prepare for additional emergency calls throughout the county. He cautioned that if weather conditions get to bad, they will not be able to make it out into certain areas.

Tampa General Hospital is continuing to monitor and prepare for possible impacts from Tropical Storm Helene. The status of TGH North operations is as follows:

HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital will be open with visitor restrictions after 1 pm on Thursday, Sept. 26. They will resume regular hospital operations on Friday, Sept. 27.

The following Publix locations will be closed on Thursday:

For storm-related questions, call 352-754-4083. Call 9-1-1 only for emergencies.

The National Hurricane Center expects Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine to strengthen into a major hurricane before it approaches the Northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday, Sept. 26. Hernando County is within the probable path of the storm. There is the potential for life threatening storm surge and damaging hurricane force winds. Hernando County Government has issued a local state of emergency. Hernando County Public Schools and district offices will be closed Wednesday and Thursday of this week. All afterschool activities for Wednesday and Thursday will be cancelled. Before and aftercare programs (YMCA and Boys & Girls Club) will not operate on those days. The school district will assess the situation after the storm to determine if schools will reopen on Friday.

A limited supply of sand and sandbags will be at the following locations listed below. Please bring your own shovel. These self-serve sandbag sites will be remain open until weather conditions begin to deteriorate.

Linda Pedersen Park 6300 Shoal Line Blvd., Spring Hill, FL 34609 o Tuesday, September 24 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting o Wednesday, September 25 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting

Anderson Snow Park 1360 Anderson Snow Rd., Spring Hill, FL 34609 (Enter through the service road between the park and the gymnastics place, the sand is located at the end) o Monday, September 23 from 2pm-5pm o Tuesday, September 24 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting o Wednesday, September 25 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting

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Ridge Manor Community Center 34240 Cortez Blvd. Ridge Manor, FL 33523 o Tuesday, September 24 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting o Wednesday, September 25 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting

Spring Lake Methodist Church 4191 Spring Lake Hwy., Brooksville, FL 34601 o Tuesday, September 24 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting o Wednesday, September 25 from 8am-5pm, weather permitting

Tips on how to properly fill and stack your sandbags Fill bags one-half to two-thirds of the way full Over-filled bags will result in a leaky sandbag wall Stack sandbags so that the seams between the bags are staggered Tuck the top of each bag under to ensure that that bag is sealed by its own weight

Sandbag Stations Open in Preparation of Potential Tropical Cyclone 9

In preparation for potential storm impacts from Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, Hernando County Government will be opening Sandbag Stations from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Monday, September 23, 2024 at Linda Pedersen Park and Anderson Snow Park.

These are the hours of operation for sandbag stations throughout the week.

A limited supply of sand and sandbags will be at the following locations listed below. Please bring your own shovel. These self-serve sandbag sites will remain open until weather conditions begin to deteriorate.

6300 Shoal Line Blvd., Spring Hill, FL 34609

1360 Anderson Snow Rd., Spring Hill, FL 34609 (Enter through the service road between the park and the gymnastics place, the sand is located at the end)

34240 Cortez Blvd., Ridge Manor, FL 33523

4191 Spring Lake Hwy., Brooksville, FL 34601

The county provides these tips on how to properly fill and stack your sandbags:

Hernando County Government’s Office of Emergency Management says it continues to monitor and inform our community about storm impacts.

For the latest local conditions and a complete list of news alerts go to HernandoCounty.us/em

Sign up to receive weather alerts at AlertHernando.org

Hernando County Executive Policy Group Will Meet to Discuss Potential Tropical Cyclone 9

Hernando County Emergency Management has also anounced that the Executive Policy Group will meet Monday, September 23, 2024 at 2:30pm at the Emergency Operations Center (18900 Cortez Blvd, Brooksville, FL 34601). This is a public meeting that is comprised of county government leaders who will discuss future impacts of the storm and consider a declaration of a local state of emergency.

Pasco County sandbag stations are available; self-serve sandbag sites are open 24 hours

The information below was provided by Pasco County:

Pasco County Emergency Management is closely monitoring the potential development of tropical weather and is encouraging you to be prepared for localized flooding in the next few days as the system makes its way toward Florida:

Due to the potential for coastal and inland flooding, we’re also opening additional locations. These sandbag sites will be open from sunrise to sunset, until further notice:

All sandbag locations are self-serve and open to Pasco County residents. Sand and sandbags will be restocked daily, weather permitting. Please bring a shovel and be prepared to fill your own sandbags.

To watch a Pasco County video explaining how to properly fill and place sandbags, please visit: mypas.co/PascoSandbags