Weather

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper had to be rescued from rising floodwater caused by Hurricane Ian, as the storm barreled through the state last week.

"Coasts are typically affected worse than we are, but that doesn't mean that we don't suffer damage when hurricanes come through. Preparation is the key to success in any disaster like this. This needs to be that wake-up call, especially for those folks that liven the low-lying areas."

Over the weekend, many residents across the Tampa Bay region began cleaning up their yards after the storm. Starting Monday, it will be a busy week for sanitation workers.

Five days after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, close to 700,000 residents were still without power. Governor Ron DeSantis said an army of 42,000 utility workers responded to the call for help to restore outages.

The Alafia River’s water levels peaked around 18.4 feet Friday evening, surrounding nearby homes in Hillsborough County with water and stranding residents over the weekend after Hurricane Ian tore across Florida the week before.

Before the 40 TPD officers and 15 Tampa firefighters left early Saturday morning, they were told, “You guys are gonna be exposed to stuff that nobody’s ever seen before but you guys.”

The state of Florida's death toll attributed to Hurricane Ian rose to 44 Saturday night as floodwaters continued to rise in low-lying areas.

Volunteers and organizations across the Bay Area are stepping up to help those impacted by Hurricane Ian.

Tampa Bay area residents stocked up on essentials and prepared their homes for the worst. Then, we watched as Hurricane Ian shifted southeast, and while that pared the Tampa Bay area, Southwest Florida was ravaged. 

TECO said the majority of their customers will have power by Sunday evening while Duke Energy said most of their customers will have it by Sunday morning.