ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The City of St. Petersburg has temporarily shut down the Northeast Sewer Treatment Plant (located at 1160 62nd Avenue NE) to protect it from an unprecedented storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene.

Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater will experience hurricane-force winds and catastrophic storm surge due to the storm’s huge wind field, despite being far from the forecast landfall region.

Florida state line as a Category 3 hurricane. Far to the east, Florida's Big Bend — where Hurricane Helene is expected to come ashore — never even felt tropical storm strength winds, but it was still hit with a mass of water that devasted coastal communities.