Law enforcement in Florida's Pinellas County rescues 430 apartment residents from floodwaters

 

Pinellas County sheriff's deputies escort dump trucks filled with debris from Hurricane Helene to a landfill in Clearwater, Florida, on October 6, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall. 

Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images

Several rescue missions were undertaken by law enforcement in Florida’s Pinellas County after Milton, including one at an apartment complex where 430 residents were pulled from flooding that had reached the second floor balcony, a county emergency management official told CNN.

Meanwhile, crews are working to clear roads, repair infrastructure and restore critical services after the county was hit by a “one-two punch” of back-to-back major hurricanes less than two weeks apart, said Ashley Giovannetti, the public information officer for Pinellas County Emergency Management.

“We really got hit by a one-two punch, first Helene, then Milton,” Giovannetti said.

Milton produced over 18 inches of rainfall and wind gusts over 100 mph in Pinellas County, Giovannetti said.

Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses – about 70% of customers in the county – remain without power as of early Thursday morning, according to poweroutage.us. Some are still without water service, too, according to Giovannetti.

“What we need going forward is just kind of empathy for residents,” she said. “They just went through two major hurricanes in our area and so many have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and now they have to find a new place to call home.”

County officials are working to find temporary or permanent housing for residents staying in shelters, but “it’s gonna take time,” Giovannetti said.