On Sep. 24 at 11:00 a.m., City of Tampa leadership including the Chief of Police Lee Bercaw, Fire Chief Barbara Tripp, Director of Mobility Vik Bihde and Mayor Jane Castor spoke at press conference on the corner of Lois and Rembrandt, just outside of the Robinson student parking lot.
Castor and her team hosted the conference to remind citizens of Tampa to take proper precautions for Helene. Bihde reassured the city that all drainage systems are working properly, but the estimated storm surge may be too much for the systems to handle.
“Even with our state of the art drainage systems, we still do not think this will be enough to stop flash flooding entirely,” Bihde said.
Drainage systems in the city are cleared every summer in preparation for the incoming hurricane season. Immediately after the conference was held, a team from the city used a truck and excavator to clear our the retention canal behind the drivers-ed lot off of Lois avenue.
Fire Cheif Tripp advised citizens to check evacuation zones, as the lives of first responders and citizens are put at risk when evacuation notices are ignored.
“Please, please keep your family safe. We all have families to go home to,” Tripp said. “It is scary to leave your home, but even scarier when that water starts to rise.”
Sandbags can be picked up from the hours of 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and Wednesday Sept. 25. Pick-up locations can be found on the City Of Tampa’s website.
“Please heeds these warnings and do not under estimate this storm,” Mayor Castor said.
