Hurricane Ian: Pasco Administrator Urges Residents To Be Patient, Kind

PASCO COUNTY, FL — Tempers are flaring as Pasco County residents wait in long lines to fill sandbags, purchase water and batteries and fill up their gas tanks.

During a new conference Tuesday afternoon, Pasco County Administrator Mike Carballa urged residents to remain calm and patient, but not complacent.

"Take this storm seriously. I still see a lot of complacency out there," he said. "I get it. I've lived in the Tampa Bay area my whole life. It can't happen to us. But I tell you, it can happen to us. I'm praying it changes its course and it doesn't affect us, but we have to plan as if it will."

As residents go about their storm preparations, Carballa asked that the community come together, help each other out and, most of all, "be civil."

"We will get through this," he said.

It was a message reiterated by Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

"We're dealing with a mental health crisis right now," he said. "All you have to do is go to the gas stations, go to a supermarket or convenience store and you will see people upset, stressed. We all understand that but realize we're all in this together. So there's not gas at that pump. We'll get you to where you need to be. Things will work out. There will be plenty of water. We will get resources in here. It's not worth being angry at people. It's not worth being upset. It's not worth that extra stress you're putting on yourself and other people. You're not alone. We're all dealing with this together so be kind."

Another courtesy that Nocco said residents should keep in mind is to notify family and friends if they're going to a shelter.

"I always say not to do this, but this is the one time you may want to put on social media where you're going," he said. "Because I can tell you from our standpoint as first responders, we will start getting calls from your loved ones when they can't contact you, when they're concerned about you. Now you're going to start putting law enforcement, deputies and fire rescue into a bad situation trying to look for people that are already safe. Meanwhile there are other rescues we may have to make."

Pasco officials also urged residents to heed evacuation orders. On Monday, Carball signed a mandatory evacuation order for all residents living in Zone A and mobile homes or recreational vehicles. Residents living in Zones B and C have been asked to evacuate voluntarily.

"If you don't, things can change very quickly, and you'll wish you had made a different decision," Nocco said.

After the storm, if you're in a place with electricity and air-conditioning, stay there for a little bit, he said.

"Wait until you get the all clear," Nocco said. "What we don't want is people piling up on the streets, people getting angry because they can't get back to their houses. I can tell you, your Pasco deputies will be out there, we will be doing everything that we can to secure houses in neighborhoods. But don't make a mad rush back into those neighborhoods. You're just going to cause a lot of chaos, because we won't be able to get you back into those neighborhoods until the power lines are back up and everything is safe and secure."

Carballa said, regardless of what track Hurricane Ian takes, Pasco County will feel the impact of the storm.

"If you think 14 to 17 feet of water doesn't translate into something significant, that's a mistake and you'll put yourself at risk," he said. "And there will be a point where our first responders won't be able to get to you."

"The storm is starting to track south of us," Pasco County Emergency Management Director Andrew Fossa said. "That does not put us out of danger. We're still expecting a significant storm surge and we're expecting at least 20 inches of rain over the next 60 hours. We are going to have high winds. We are going to get flooded."

He said rivers in Pasco County are already overflowing their banks.

"Wednesday afternoon, if you can avoid being on the roads please do so," Fossa said. "The bands (of rain) will start coming in early Wednesday morning and we'll start getting some tropical gusts, but by mid-afternoon into the evening, we are going to start feeling some hurricane-force winds."

Fossa said the county has 10 shelters open, five of which are pet-friendly.

They are located at:

"We have hit an all-time high for the distribution of sandbags," Fossa said. "We put out over 260,000 sandbags. That being said, we're having to limit the amount per household to 10."

Fossa said the county actually ran out of sandbags yesterday and Hillsborough County loaned the county 126,000 more.

Nevertheless, the lines for sandbags are long and residents are growing impatient.

"Tempers are starting to flare. We don't want nobody getting hurt," he said. "It has to be a community effort, so please work together."

The self-serve sandbag stations are located at:

• W.H. Jack Mitchell Jr. Park, 4825 Little Road, New Port Richey
• Veterans Memorial Park, 14333 Hicks Road, Hudson
• Magnolia Valley Golf Course, 7223 Massachusetts Ave., New Port Richey,
• Pasco County Public Works (C-Barn), 30908 Warder Road, San Antonio
• Land O' Lakes Recreation Center, 3032 Collier Parkway, Land O' Lakes
• Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road, Wesley Chapel

The pet-friendly shelters are at Fivay, River Ridge, Sunlake, Wiregrass Ranch high schools and Fasano Regional Hurricane Center. To find out what to bring to the shelters, click here.

Pasco Fire Chief Scott Cassin added that residents should also expect an increase in emergency response times since many of the county's fire stations are located in evacuation zones and have had to close.

Fire crews will begin to shut down operations when winds reach 40 mph and will completely shut down operations when winds increase to 50 mph or more, Cassin said.

"There are plenty of storm shelters and the time to go is now, not tomorrow," he said. "We may not be able to rescue you if you get into trouble."

Nocco added that the sheriff's office has been preparing all week and has its swift water, chainsaw, aviation search-and-rescue and emergency response teams on standby to go into storm surge-impacted or flooded areas to rescue people after the storm.

"When things are at their worst, we'll be at our best," he said. "We'll get over this and be stronger for it."

For elderly residents who need transportation to a storm shelter, the GoPasco Pasco County Public Transportation System is offering rides at no charge through Thursday. To arrange a ride, residents can click here or call:

• West Pasco ...................... 727-834-3322
• East Pasco ...................... 352-521-4587
• Central Pasco ................... 813-235-6073

"We will never turn anybody away at the shelters," Carballa said.

Closures Announced

Currently, all public schools in the Pasco County School District are closed through Friday, as are all district offices and after-school programs. All athletic events and practices, and all extracurricular activities have been canceled.

Pasco County government offices will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Residential and commercial trash and recycling collection services will be suspended Wednesday and Thursday. Collection may resume Friday, weather permitting.)

Senior Centers closed Tuesday.

Extension offices closed Tuesday.

Building Construction Services closed all offices Tuesday.

Animal Services closed Tuesday. Animal control officers willbe available for emergency response only.

Saint Leo University will cancel classes from Wednesday through Friday at the university campus in St. Leo and at all education center locations, except the Corpus Christi, Texas, and Columbus, Mississippi, centers.

Stay up-to-date by viewing all Hurricane Ian coverage on Patch here.

In addition to the residential campus in Pasco County, classes are canceled from Wednesday through Friday at the university’s locations in Tampa, at MacDill Air Force Base, on the Spring Hill, Brooksville and New Port Richey campuses of Pasco-Hernando State College, in Ocala, Key West, Lake City, Jacksonville and Mayport, as well as in Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. Click here for information.

All Pasco-Hernando State College campus and facilities including the performing arts center are closed through Friday. The college job fair scheduled for Thursday has been canceled as well. Click here for updates.

Related:

• To Evacuate Or Not: Some Stay Put To Avoid Clogged Highways, Gas Lines
• Hurricane Ian: Cat. 3 Storm Will Make Landfall In Venice
• Where To Find Gas In Tampa Bay Area: Hurricane Ian Evacuation
• Hurricane Ian Evacuation: Uber Offering Free Rides To Shelters
• Hurricane Ian: Pasco County Orders Mandatory Evacuations
• Hurricane Ian: Tampa Bay International Airports To Close Ahead Of Ian

Regular GoPasco public bus service could be suspended as early as late Wednesday, depending on the storm's trajectory and winds.

All county parks will close on Tuesday. All Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources boat ramps, events, activities, youth and adult sports leagues, special event reservations, pavilion rentals, camping/RV grounds, cabin rentals, field reservations and any other reservations at Pasco County Parks have been canceled until further notice.

Courthouses in both Pinellas and Pasco counties will be closed through Thursday.

All Pasco County libraries closed at 3 p.m. Tuesday and will reopen on Saturday.

The Pasco County Customer Service line is now open 24 hours. Call 727.847.2411.

For more hurricane information, visit MyPasco.net.

Click here to see the Pasco County 2022 Disaster Preparedness Guide.