HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Widespread flooding overnight from Helene prompting several emergencies across the county.

SEE BELOW: More county-by-county reports

According to Danny Alvarez with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, officials received 300-plus storm related emergency calls.

Alvarez said there were at least a dozen storm-related overnight fires and dozens of calls for water rescues. He said anywhere from 50 to 100 people were impacted.

There were also multiple instances of down power lines throughout the county.

The flooding situations, estimated at 4 to 7 feet of water, stretched from Apollo Beach and Riverview to downtown and Davis Islands and over to the Town ‘n Country and Oldsmar areas.

Two families were lucked from their roofs after water rose inside their homes, Alvarez said.

Emergency crews responded to Racetrack Road to rescue a teen girl from a car after she tried to drive through floodwaters.

Also, rescues took place downtown where Tampa police had to help people off Davis Islands and onto buses that took them to safety. Davis Islands remains closed but Tampa General Hospital is open.

Alvarez noted the majority of the calls for help came from Zone A areas, where mandatory evacuations had been ordered.   

"It was a busy night," said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who said at least 47 people and eight dogs were rescued by boats. "A lot of people did not heed the warning." 

MANATEE COUNTY LATEST

Meanwhile, in Manatee County, Hurricane Helene stayed well offshore. But its tropical weather effects have left significant damage.

“We saw devastating damage along our beaches,” said Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske. “We had significant flooding across the county.”

Peak storm surges of between five and a half and seven feet were recorded at various data points throughout the county. Overnight, emergency operators answered more than a thousand 9-1-1 calls. Manatee County emergency crews responded to more than 400 calls for service. First responders say they were able to rescue and safely evacuate more than 300 residents and visitors from locations in Anna Maria Island, Palmetto and unincorporated areas of the county.  

Debris still covers roadways and curious citizens are trying to get a look at the damage for themselves. Officials are urging the public’s help during this critical post-storm period.

“Do not go out and be a disaster tourist,” said Fiske. “Please stay safe and let our crews do their work today.”

Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, Longboat Key and Bradenton Beaches water supply remains suspended until first in teams have completed their damage assessments and we can assess our water and wastewater systems.

Residents whose typical trash collection occurs on Thursday will have their refuse removed today (if the hauler has access to the property). Regularly scheduled Friday pick-ups will happen tomorrow. The Lena Rd. Landfill will be open today. The county’s contracted debris hauler is en route and will be commencing debris assessments today. Residents may begin separating their debris from trash immediately to prepare for removal.

Manatee County offices and facilities remain closed today. Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) buses will not be running Friday.

PINELLAS COUNTY LATEST

Helene brought historic storm surge to coastal and low-lying areas across Pinellas County, causing widespread flooding, prompting hundreds of water rescues overnight and resulting in five deaths.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Friday, major bridges remain at least partially closed, and access to the barrier islands remained closed as crews assess damage to roads and other critical infrastructure.

Officials with the city of St. Petersburg said Friday evening that the restoration of the city's Northeast Sewer Treatment Plant should be complete by midnight Saturday morning. Residents and businesses in the affected service area will be able to resume flushing toilets, taking showers and doing laundry at that time.

Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, county officials said buses would be available to help people leave the barrier islands. Animals will be permitted, but officials said space is limited and residents should only bring essentials with them.

Officials with Pinellas County Utilities also said that potable water service will be restricted on the barrier islands starting at 8 p.m. in St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and Tierra Verde.

Water currently does not meet drinking standards and residents and businesses will be without potable water until repairs are made. Water pressure will drop at 8 p.m. and a boil-water notice will be in effect.

The County's evacuation order for residents in Zone A and mobile homes has been rescinded, except for those living on the barrier islands.

Preliminary impact reports:

• More than 5,000 911 calls specifically related to the hurricane overnight into the morning
• More than 500 water rescues by first responders.
• More than 200,000 Duke Energy customers without power.
• More than 1,600 people were staying in public shelters.
• Widespread flood damage to homes and businesses reported.

POLK COUNTY LATEST

County officials say they were lucky with Hurricane Helene, avoiding much of the storm’s wrath.

“We were blessed,” said Paul Womble, Polk County’s Emergency Management director. “We were ready to respond, but the storm mostly spared Polk County.”

The county reported the following:

• The Emergency Operations Center was partially activated for five days to coordinate response efforts.
• Polk County distributed 39,171 sandbags to residents on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• There was one tornado warning on Thursday evening.
• The top wind speed recorded in Polk County on Thursday was 59 mph, in Fort Meade.
• As of 6 a.m. Friday, there were 5,655 power outages in Polk County.
• Two homes received major damage due to falling trees.

Additionally, early Friday, a convoy of about 45 people left Polk County and headed to Taylor County to provide storm recovery assistance. Polk County’s mutual aid team is comprised of employees from Polk County Fire Rescue, Polk County’s Emergency Management Division and the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The team will be gone for a minimum of 10 days and it is expected that they will work 12-hour shifts.

“In the emergency management world, we always look out for our neighbors,” Womble said. “Sometimes, it’s workers from other counties leaving their families behind to come help us, and there are times when we go help our neighbors.”

CITRUS COUNTY

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s rains and flooding, emergency officials performed several water rescues in Crystal River.

Flood waters rose extremely fast just after midnight, going from a couple of inches to about 3 feet in roughly 15 minutes on U.S. Highway 19.

Dozens of calls for rescues were received and crews have been out in the early morning hours. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office said crews have made 85 rescues so far.

For more details from Citrus County, click here for a report by Spectrum Bay News 9's Angie Angers.

PASCO COUNTY 

The Sam's Club off U.S. 19 in New Port Richey was serving Friday as a sort of base of operations for emergency crews.

The Sheriff's Office had humvees and a mobile command center. There were also a few airboats with the Pasco County mosquito control district on standby.

Sen. Rick Scott and Sheriff Chris Nocco toured the area to survey damage.

A county spokesperson said 47 roads had to be closed because of flooding. About 135 people were rescued from flood waters west of U.S. 19.

And there were 31 reported structure fires since Thursday night.