ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hurricane Helene brought extreme winds and a record-breaking storm surge to the Tampa Bay area as it made landfall as a powerful Category 4 in the Big Bend region Thursday evening.
Fallen trees damaged homes and cars, and hundreds of calls for service came to different law enforcement and fire rescue agencies across our local counties.
As officials update the community about the storm's impact, 10 Tampa Bay is keeping track of those who lost their lives.
During a Friday morning briefing, leaders from Pinellas County confirmed that five people died from storm-related causes. Two of those deaths happened in Treasure Island, two people passed away in Indian Rocks Beach and another person died in Dunedin.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that in two of those cases, the victims drowned. He explained the other three deaths are under investigation, but said they were definitely related to the storm.
City officials in Tampa said on Friday morning that two people in their jurisdiction passed away during Hurricane Helene. One of them was a 23-year-old passenger riding in a minivan when a freeway sign fell on top of the car, killing them. There were others in the car at the time, who all made it out unharmed.
Hillsborough County leaders said Friday morning that none of their rescue efforts included any deaths in their jurisdiction.
This story will be updated if more deaths are attributed to Hurricane Helene.