St. Pete crews assess damage, 185,000 in Pinellas without power

Thousands of utility workers stand by — it's going to get very busy.

The city of St. Petersburg has released a preliminary report on damage caused by Hurricane Ian, stating that so far, there doesn’t appear to be significant damage. Meanwhile, Duke Energy has reported 185,517 Pinellas County residents are without power as of Thursday morning.

The city has received reports of numerous downed trees and power lines. As of 7 a.m., the city has confirmed 79 out-of-service traffic lights. The city is responding with generators and stop signs, with police officers on hand to monitor. Fire crews also reported a handful of fires that have been contained with minor damage and no injuries.

Push teams are set to head out at daylight to remove downed tree debris from main roadways and access to hospitals. They expect to have a more accurate count of downed trees and power lines later today.

For now, the city is asking residents to stay off the roads as crews clear power lines and trees and until power is restored to traffic signals.

Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified and made landfall on Florida’s Southwest coast as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday, pummeling areas just south of Tampa Bay. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told reporters Wednesday morning she spoke with Mayors of Fort Myers, Sarasota, Punta Gorda and Naples to offer resources for communities impacted by the storm, which was previously expected to directly hit the Tampa Bay area earlier this week.

Damaging winds and rain lashed the state’s heavily populated Gulf Coast, with the Naples to Sarasota region at “highest risk” of a devastating storm surge. But the storm continued to impact Central Florida overnight, maintaining hurricane strength most of the way as it crossed the state.

U.S. Air Force hurricane hunters confirmed Ian gained strength over warm Gulf of Mexico water after battering Cuba, bringing down the country’s electricity grid and leaving the entire island without power. Ian was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west-southwest of Naples at 7 a.m., swirling toward the coast at 10 mph.