How To Deal With Flooding In Your Home

Our hearts go out to all of the bay area residents in this crisis after the storm trying to deal with flooding in your home in Tampa Bay. If you're currently stuck with flood water in your house, here are some steps you can try to follow in the aftermath.

First thing, most importantly, turn off all electrical systems in your home. This has happened automatically in a lot of cases with power outages. But it could be dangerous when it comes back on, so make sure you’ve turned off the sources. Avoid walking through water to get to a fuse box.

Make sure your children, pets, and any loved ones, family members within the house are okay. Evacuate to a shelter or to dry land. As long as you and your loved ones are safe, you will be able to navigate the recovery process.

If you are renting your property, reach out to your landlord. If you are a homeowner, call your insurer and tell them you have water damage. Identify whether you need to wait for the adjuster to come to your property before you begin cleanup. If you have questions in regard to what to do if your insurance company isn’t filing a proper claim, you can find resources here.

First before you start cleaning up the damage, make sure you're wearing the right protective gear. Rubber boots, gloves, and clothes are essential for post-hurricane clean up.

When it comes to the clean-up process, there are three imperative things you need to remember. We are all included to take our phones and grab a photo or video in a traumatic event. This is the right time to do that. You have to be able to show your insurer the damage, so take photographs of everything from every angle. Take every precaution to avoid hazardous material, which includes water.

Once you’ve documented everything, it’s time to remove the water and try to save any of the personal items that you have. This means removing EVERYTHING water touched in your home.  Set any solid wood furniture, family photos, or other potential salvageable items out to dry.

A significant danger of flooding is mold issues. Use bleach to clean and keep the area dry.

Please be safe and be careful.

Tampa Bay wakes up grateful that the worst of Hurricane Helene missed us. While some are suffering from power outages and fallen trees, many people and businesses in the community are working hard to open back up. Here's what we've seen open in Tampa Bay (so far). To be sure, call the business location near you to make sure they are still open.

Hurricane Helene has made landfall in Taylor Co, Florida about 10 miles WSW of Perry, FL as a Category 4 with winds of 140 mph.

Please only leave if evacuation orders in your county have been lifted. Officials have asked residents to not attempt to drive through the high waters. If you MUST leave your shelter, drive slowly and be alert on the roadways. Make a full stop at any broken stoplights to avoid any accidents. 

Tampa Bay has seen some effects of storm surge in parts of Tampa, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs, St. Pete and more. Many businesses have decided to stay closed today due to flooded streets. Some have opened to provide hot meals to those without power. Here's what we know is opened and closed in Tampa Bay for Friday, September 27. We will keep this post updated as we learn if more places have opened.

As of 9:30am, the westbound lanes of the Gandy bridge has reopened. Eastbound lanes are still closed. As of 12pm, southbound lanes of the Howard Frankland are open, north bound lanes are still closed. Other major Tampa Bay Bridges such as the Courtney Campbell, Bridges to barrier islands still remain closed as well. Northbound lanes of the Sunshine Skyway (Manatee to Pinellas County) is now open. The SB Skyway Bridge (Pinellas to Manatee County) will remain closed until debris clearing and damage assessment is complete. Updates will be provided once they become available.

As of 9:40am, Tampa International Airport has reopened to the public.

St. Pete-Clearwater airport also  remains closed on Friday but plans to reopen after assessment. It's still recommended to check with your airline for latest flight information. 

Most Publix locations will be closed today. Check out the store locator map to see which location is open near you. Be sure to call the store before you leave to confirm.

According to Google, some Tampa Bay area Aldi locations are open today, including Westchase, Oldsmar, New Tampa and Carrollwood. Be sure to call your local store to confirm. Google lists that stores like Target and Walmart are also open today.

Hillsborough County- Closed Friday, September 27.
Pinellas County - Closed Friday, September 27.
Polk County - Closed Friday, September 27. Polk State College will be closed Thursday and Friday.
Pasco County - Closed Friday, September 27.
Sarasota County - Closed Friday, September 27.
Citrus County - Closed Friday, September 27.
Desoto County - No decision made at this time
Hernando County- Closed Friday, September 27.
Highlands County- School and extracurriculars will resume on Friday, September 27 as normal. 
Manatee County- Closed Friday, September 27.

Select gas stations such as: Speedway, 7-Eleven, Wawa, and Marathon gas stations are open. Be sure to call the location near you before you leave!

You know if they can, they'll be open. We've been told multiple locations are open across Tampa. Call the store near you before you leave to be sure!