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Important Post-Hurricane Updates

The Clearwater Beach You Know and Love Is Not Yet Ready for Visitors

While checkpoints may have ended and traffic is now allowed on the barrier island, it's still not time to come to your beloved beach. The roadways to the barrier island are open now so that contractors, cleanup crews and resources can get to and help our beach residents and business owners.

We want to remind people that our beach is not ready to host visitors. The public bathing beach is closed and is filled with dirty sand and debris. Dead marine life is also causing the area to have an unpleasant odor. Parking lots are not available because they are staging areas for sand, equipment and workers. Roadways are still full of sand, some areas are still out of power and sand conditions are not ideal. We also don’t want visitors clogging the streets and keeping crews who are hard at recovery efforts to get delayed.

The city of Clearwater asks you….please do not come to the beach to galivant and satisfy any sense of curiosity. If you do, this would be at the expense of our residents and businesses that have already lost so much. 

Clearwater Cares About Its Barrier Island Residents and Business Owners

We are dedicated and committed to you, our residents. We are doing all we can to get you back to your homes and to get resources out to the barrier islands. By allowing access, we are getting your contractors, cleanup crews and resources to you. We know this will increase the number of people on our barrier islands and that it may cause you to have some concerns. The Clearwater Police Department remains committed to keeping  residents and their properties safe. We have saturated overnight patrols with extra officers from dusk to dawn seven days a week. Officers are in undercover vehicles as well as marked cruisers. Your safety and wellbeing are our utmost priority.

Reclaimed Water Outage for South Beach Residents

Reclaimed water is shut off on the Clearwater barrier island, from Coronado Drive to the Sand Key Bridge. A two-inch reclaimed water meter was hit and damaged. A sand pile is limiting our utilities crew's access to make the repair, so Clearwater Public Utilities turned off the service. Residents should not use reclaimed water at this time for irrigation or chiller water use. We expect to have repairs made tomorrow, Oct. 2. Thank you for your understanding.

Clarification on Looting

Solid Waste and Recycling Updates

The city’s disposal contractor will be picking up demolition debris on Island Estates, Clearwater Beach and Sand Key beginning Tuesday, Oct. 1, and until debris is cleared. 

Make sure your debris is separated into piles.

• RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS: Demolition debris includes carpet, drywall, furniture, mattresses, plumbing and other building materials. Different vendors are collecting different types of debris. If the debris is not sorted, it will hamper our pickup efforts and slow down the process to get back to normal.
  
  
• COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS: Contract with your private contractor to remove debris off your property/business. 

Do not place debris in the right-of-way or near power lines, utilities or fire hydrants. If debris is in the right-of-way or if cars are parked close to the debris, solid waste collection trucks might not be able to access your road or service your home.

All residential recycling collections are suspended at this time.

Household hazardous waste doesn’t belong at the curb. When chemicals are close together such as chlorine and gasoline, they can become incredibly dangerous to you and our crews.

Collection Sites Are Accepting Donations for Those Impacted by Hurricane Helene

What To Do With Sand 

From Pinellas County: If clean sand from the beach ended up on your property you can return it to the beach and dune above the high tide line (mean high water). It must not have stains, odors or debris, and you must not place it over dune plants, turtle nests, hurricane generated debris or construction debris.

If the sand does not meet the criteria above, you must request permission from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (850-245-2094 or CCCL@FloridaDEP.gov). Once you have permission, the same placement restrictions apply.   

Failure to follow these rules may result in civil penalties. Don’t put sand in your trash or out in the road. If you’re using heavy equipment, be cautious of buried water lines and other infrastructure. Call 311.

City Hall Groundbreaking Canceled

To focus on supporting our community after Hurricane Helene, the city of Clearwater is postponing the groundbreaking ceremony originally scheduled for Oct. 2 for our new city hall to a later date to be determined. Details will be shared when they become available.

FEMA Disaster Recovery Center

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will open a Disaster Recovery Center at Largo Public Library, 120 Central Park Drive in Largo, to assist residents impacted by Hurricane Helene. It will open at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2.

The disaster recovery center will be open at these times:

• Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Disaster recovery centers serve as centralized locations where people can access various services and information related to disaster recovery:

• Information and Guidance: Disaster recovery centers provide information on available disaster assistance programs and resources.

• Application Assistance: You can receive help with applying for federal disaster assistance programs, such as FEMA grants and low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration DRC staff can assist you in completing the necessary paperwork and explaining the application process.

• Translation and Accessibility Services: The disaster recovery center offers translation services for individuals with limited English proficiency. They also provide accommodations for people with disabilities to ensure equal access to assistance.

• Status Updates: If you have already applied for assistance, you can check the status of your application at a disaster recovery center.

• Access to Disaster-related Resources: The disaster recovery center will have informational materials, pamphlets, and brochures that can help you better understand the recovery process and available resources. Staff can refer you to other local, state and federal agencies or organizations providing additional assistance, such as housing, legal services, and counseling.

• Access to Computers and Phones: The disaster recovery center offers computer access and phone services, allowing you to complete online applications.

When visiting a disaster recovery center, it's a good idea to bring identification, proof of residence, insurance information, and any documentation related to your disaster-related losses to facilitate the application process and ensure you receive the appropriate assistance.

Residents can register for FEMA assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov, via the FEMA app or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).

Contractors and Rebuilding After the Storm

• Whenever using a contractor, make sure they are licensed. Unlicensed or fraudulent contractors often target desperate home- and business owners in the aftermath of hurricanes. Learn more at Pinellas.gov/choosing-a-contractor. Verify that contractors are licensed at contractorsearch.pcclb.com. 
• If the seaward side of a property’s seawall is exposed, residents should consult a structural engineer or licensed marine contractor before covering the wall with sand.
• Placing sand on a damaged seawall could cause further and costly damage.
• Learn more about Clearwater’s requirement for rebuilding after the storm at MyClearwater.com/RebuildingAfterStorm

Avoid Becoming a Victim of a Post-Storm Scam

Avoid becoming a victim of post-storm scams! Residents are protected by the state’s price gouging law. Residents who suspect price gouging can report it by calling the Pinellas County Consumer Protection at (727) 464-6200 or online at pinellas.gov/consumer and are also encouraged to report it to the Attorney General’s hotline at 866-9-NO-SCAM.

Effective only during a declared state of emergency, the price gouging law bans unconscionable prohibits sharp increases in the price of essential commodities, such as food, water, shelter, ice, gasoline, lumber and equipment that is needed as a direct result of an official declared emergency. Violators are subject to civil penalties of $1,000 per violation, up to a total of $25,000 for multiple violations committed in a single 24-hour period.

Also, be wary of solicitations for charitable contributions on behalf of Hurricane Helene. All charities soliciting within Florida – excluding religious, educational, political and governmental agencies entities – are required to register and file financial information with the with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. To check whether a charitable organization is properly registered, visit Check-A-Charity, a resource that provides the information reported to the department.

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